


Inaudible

by yikesmontana, yikesregan



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Sexual Assault, Deaf Character, Deaf Kim Taehyung | V, Deaf Park Jimin, Dick Jokes, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Inappropriate Humor, Jeon Jungkook is Whipped, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin Are Best Friends, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mute Park Jimin, Nonverbal Communication, Sign Language, except jimin, mute character, we made jin a flamboyant gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2018-11-18 16:15:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11294229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikesmontana/pseuds/yikesmontana, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikesregan/pseuds/yikesregan
Summary: Kim Taehyung was deaf.And Jeon Jeongguk was a fucking idiot for not noticing sooner.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> This is just fluff  
> also the second part will be out tomorrow wootwoot,, and ty to monant for co-writing this shit

“Hoseok, I think I’m in love!” The young boy chimed as he burst through the door of their dorm with a smile that could be seen from outer-space adorning his handsome features. The sudden intrusion caused Hoseok to jump in fright, his hand clutching onto the fabric of his shirt over his heart as he tried to catch his breath.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Jeongguk! You almost gave me a heart attack-” Hoseok exclaimed as he quickly closed his laptop and finally looked away from the screen, admittedly for the first time today. With only a quick glance he could already notice Jeongguk’s exasperated expression. “What’s crawled up your ass and made you so happy?”

Jeongguk threw himself onto the couch backwards, landing on his back in a sprawled out position.

“I already told you! I’m in love,” he stated as he stared up in awe, memorizing the grooves and designs of the ceiling. At that Hoseok rolled his eyes, though his reaction went unnoticed.

“Oh, yeah? Who’s the unlucky fucker this time?” he teased, his lips curled upward into a playful smirk, the dimples of his cheeks on full display.

Jeongguk sighed. “Okay, one: rude. And two, I don’t know his name yet, but holy shit does is he beautiful! Forget art history, I just want to study him, holy fuck.”

“Art history? Isn’t that a third-year course?” Hoseok asked in curiosity. Jeongguk nodded in response and with that Hoseok beamed even more. “Oh fuck, my lil’ Jeonggukie’s got a crush on an older guy! You know if you told me you liked older guys sooner-”

“Oh god, please don’t make a big deal out of this!” Jeongguk pleaded, hoping to escape the embarrassment of the situation and the mockery that was to come with it.

Hoseok smiled as innocently as possible, before releasing a mischievous chuckle that he’d been trying to hold back.

“He’s an older guy, so does that like make him your… _Oppa_?” Hoseok then broke out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter as Jeongguk became flustered by his remark.

“ _L-Listen, Oppa, I… I know we just met, but, when I’m around you, m-my heart just...!_ ” Hoseok paused dramatically, a hand clutching his chest, face turned away. “ _I can’t help… this feeling… I love you, Oppa!”_

“It’s not going to end like one of your k-dramas,” Jeongguk groaned, chucking a pillow in Hoseok’s direction, which ended up hitting his roommate in the face.

“You can’t be sure of that,” Hoseok hummed, obviously losing interest in the conversation.

“Speaking of, you really need to stop watching those. That’s not what love is,” Jeongguk scolded his roommate in a teasing manner, keeping the mood light.

“Hypocritical,” Hoseok huffed. “You’re like the walking epitome of a romantic cliche! You fall _in love_ like it’s nothing!.. Besides, how do you think I managed to score a hot piece of ass like Min Yoongi? K-dramas, dude. K-dramas. Take my advice. Go for it, get some! Just ask him out already, for crying out loud!”

“Dude, chill, I haven’t even talked to him yet. I don’t even know if he’s gay!” Jeongguk laughed. Hoseok shrugged, making a rude gesture with his hands.

“Whatever, you deserve it, kid. I believe in you. Go get some ass, boy,” Hoseok continued, and Jeongguk took that as his cue to leave.

Shaking his head as he left to go to his room, as he thought to himself, _I really need to get a roommate reassignment._ Those words meant nothing, Jeongguk didn’t really mean it, he had gotten used to the older boy’s jokester attitude and shenanigans, though he would never admit it to anyone.

Jeongguk sat impatiently in his seat, his leg bouncing up and down nervously as his eyes frantically scoured around the room, trying to find the cute boy he had a crush on. Minutes had passed by and class seminar had already begun, though Jeongguk didn’t pay any attention to the lesson as he was too preoccupied worrying.

 _Maybe this is a good thing, maybe this is a sign that I shouldn’t talk to him!_ His mind rushed to conclusions, trying to convince himself it was a good thing that the boy didn’t show up, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the lecture hall doors being opened.

Jeongguk’s expression lit up unintentionally as his gaze was directed towards where the sound was coming from and there, standing at the front of the hall, was the boy of whom he had been dreading and dreaming of seeing again.

There he was, standing there in all his glory, ashy brown hair swept out of the way to reveal his dark-whiskey coloured eyes, his clothes all too big for him as they hung loosely off his small frame. Jeongguk wished he could’ve just sunk down in his seat and evaporated. The boy had sat down in the front row, which was ten rows away from where Jeongguk was seated, ignoring all the other students whispering.

“Okay, class. Back to the lesson, you can talk later,” the professor scolded, but Jeongguk could not remove his eyes from the boy, watching as he intently paid attention to the teacher, as if he was trying to absorb every word he said through his eyes. Jeongguk also noticed that the boy had a habit of trying to mouth the words the teacher said. It was somewhat endearing, watching as his pink lips move along silently.

Jeongguk praised every god known to man for the layout of the tables; they were curved, somewhat, so even though the cute boy was in the front, he was at the end, therefore at a perfect ogling distance for Jeongguk.

“Who’re you staring at?” An unfamiliar voice asked in a hushed tone from behind, causing Jeongguk to become startled before turning around towards the direction the voice came from. It ended up being one of his female classmates, whose name had slipped his mind.

Jeongguk gave her an odd look before looking back at the the boy and gesturing to him.

“Do you know his name?” He asked bluntly, turning again to face her.

“Yeah, it’s Kim Taehyung, I think,” she sighed, humming almost absentmindedly and tapping the end of her pen on the table. “He’s glorious. I think I’d actually pay him to punch me in the face.”

“You don’t mean that,” Jeongguk responded, holding back a laugh. The girl shrugged.

“Don’t kinkshame,” she muttered, dead serious, and Jeongguk spluttered out a laugh, cheeks burning red.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said back, hiding his face behind his hand in embarrassment. The teacher noticed them then, snapping a short “hush” before continuing the lecture. Jeongguk gave the girl one last friendly smile before resuming his note-taking (gazing at Kim Taehyung wistfully.)

He let out an admirable sigh as he stared longingly, letting his thoughts and imagination run wild about the almost surreal being, Kim Taehyung. The more Jeongguk thought about it, the less convinced he was that Taehyung was real. The way Taehyung’s lips would move along with the teacher's words, the way his eyes focused only on the lesson and how he would furrow his brows when the professor started picking up speed. His golden skin seemed to glow, his hair somewhat mussed but in an unearthly way, each individual strand visible and soft-looking. Even from rows back, Jeongguk could see the vibrancy in his eyes, the intensity in which he followed the lesson. It was, simply put, completely and utterly ethereal.

For Jeongguk, the class had passed by in a blur, paying little to no attention towards the lesson. Though, who could blame him? He was too enticed by the beauty that was Kim Taehyung to notice what was happening around him. Jeongguk would’ve continued to gawk at the upperclassman if it hadn’t been for the bell ringing obnoxiously, signalling that it was the end of class. All students, including Jeongguk, had begun to pack up, all except one. Jeongguk paused, watching puzzledly as Taehyung sat in his seat as he did all class, before realizing everyone was packing up. This confused Jeongguk, but ultimately caused him to crack a small, closed-mouth smile at how cute and oblivious the boy was, which just added to his infatuation. This only lasted a brief moment, as panic started to bubble up in Jeongguk’s throat when he saw Taehyung getting ready to leave like everyone else.

 _This might be my only opportunity! I might never get a chance like this again!_ Jeongguk panicked to himself, which only made him collect his belongings quicker and then carelessly shove them in his bag. (He would regret that later as all of his papers had been crushed in the process.)

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, not bothering to adjust the straps or zip it closed and began to look for the ashy haired boy, who had disappeared from his previous spot. Jeongguk’s eyes had swept across the room as he searched desperately for Taehyung, which seemed to be a forming habit of his, when he noticed the head of messy brown hair getting away within the horde of students heading for the door. Making a quick, rash decision, Jeongguk then bolted for the exit in hopes of catching up to his classmate.

His eyes stayed glued to Kim Taehyung as he tried catching up with him in the hallway, fear building in him everytime he seemed to lose sight of his (irrational) crush. Though, the thought of losing track of Taehyung made his legs speed up. Never in Jeongguk’s life had he recalled walking that fast.

When he had caught up to Taehyung, he still kept his distance, hoping to get somewhere quieter than the bustling hallways of their university. Once everything had calmed down, Jeongguk took his chance.

Taehyung had been leaning over in front of the water fountain, drinking from it, as Jeongguk stayed within a few paces from him.

“U-uh, hi… I’m uh, fuck, I mean, shit… I’m Jeongguk, we take art history together,” Jeongguk rambled, but Taehyung continued to drink from the fountain. “I, uh, was kinda hoping, wondering that, just maybe, if you’d like to hangout-”

Without even a glance, Kim Taehyung had stood up straight with a blank face, before turning in the opposite direction of Jeon Jeongguk and walking away.

Jeongguk felt like he had been stabbed multiple times in the chest with a knife and dunked into a pit of fire at the same time.

“Oh, okay. I see you’re busy, maybe next time!?” He called out in a weak attempt to earn his crush’s attention, which backfired as Taehyung hadn’t even given him a glance. Before, Jeongguk had felt as though he was being stabbed; now he felt that knife being twisted within the cavity of his chest, getting ready to finish him off.

In that moment, Jeongguk realized that this was his first rejection.

Jeongguk did the only thing he could think of. He trudged home, head lowered like a kicked puppy, changed into ugly pj’s, wrapped himself in a protective layer of sheets and moped. (Maybe cried a little, but he wasn’t going to admit that.)

When Hoseok arrived back to their dorm, he has been shocked to find Jeongguk in that state. He was unsure of how to approach the boy, who was currently grumbling under his mountain of blankets. Hoseok had little to no experience in dealing with emotionally unstable people, and therefore was very hesitant in approaching his roommate.

Jeongguk felt the bed dip down beside him where Hoseok had sat.

“You want to talk about it, dude?” Hoseok asked, hoping to comfort the younger boy, which was difficult and awkward for him as the word ‘comforting’ did not exist in Hoseok’s vocabulary.

“No,” Jeongguk groaned, his face buried deep in his pillow.

“Oh, come on bro. Talking about it might help?!” Hoseok suggested, but it sounded more like he was asking for reassurance on the subject.

“No, it won’t,” Jeongguk protested into his pillow like a immature child.

“Oh, c’mon! Human interaction is the best cure for whatever you’re feeling, I am _great_ at talking to people about their feelings,” Hoseok mentioned, his voice lacking confidence, as he tried to tug Jeongguk’s pillow away from him.

Jeongguk sat up abruptly, ripping the pillow out from his hyung’s grasp and holding it tightly to his chest. Now that Hoseok could see his eyes, he noticed that they were slightly puffy and red, he had obviously been crying earlier. He scowled at Hoseok, trying to look fierce and intimidating, but actually emitting the facial expression of a mad little boy.

“Oh, come on don’t give me that look…” Hoseok hissed playfully, poking Jeongguk’s cheek with his finger only to have it being smacked away.

Hoseok sighed at his reaction. Whatever the problem was had probably been pretty bad to have Jeongguk act this way.

“Oh, so it’s that bad?” He asked in an exhausted tone.

“Yep, that bad…”

The atmosphere was engulfed in silence as the two boys looked awkwardly around the room. It had become almost suffocatingly quiet before Jeongguk let out an angry yell and latched onto the older man. Hoseok was going to oppose to the close proximity, but debated against it and let Jeongguk have his moment.

“Fucking jerk,” Jeongguk swore hitting his fist into Hoseok’s shoulder, not enough to hurt him though.

“Hey! What did I do?” Hoseok defended himself, still completely confused by his roommate's sudden behaviour.

Jeongguk hit Hoseok’s chest again, “Not you, dumbass. I’m talking about stupid Kim Taehyung.”

“Wait, Kim Taehyung’s the guy you like? _Hmmm_... sounds like a douche,” Hoseok sighed. “But hey, you know what the best way to get over someone is?”

“What?” Jeongguk asked tentatively, a bit scared.

“To find someone else. You know when the perfect opportunity is for you to do so?” Hoseok continued. Jeongguk rolled his eyes, still playing along.

“When, Hoseok?”

“Tonight. At a party. With me.”

Jeongguk rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm in annoyance.

“Okay, let’s say, for some out of character reason, I did go to this party with you. How is that going to help me?”

“I can’t believe I’m letting myself get dragged to this shit,” Jeongguk exclaimed with exasperation, running a hand messily through his slick, raven coloured hair.

Hoseok had given Jeongguk the impression that this party was just going to be a small get together between buddies, playing COD, drinking a bit - okay, maybe more like a lot- of soju and then going home when they sobered up. What Jeongguk hadn’t been expecting was a house filled to the brim with university students, most that he recognized from class, getting blackout drunk. It was really his own fault for believing Hoseok in the first place, it wasn’t like it was the first time he had pulled something like this on him. Hoseok and Jeongguk had very different terms for what was considered a party.

“C’mon, it’s not that bad!” Hoseok protested, trying to cheer up his friend. “This is the only effective way of getting over someone… or maybe it’s the worst way actually, hmmm… Well, whatever! We’re getting piss drunk tonight and maybe getting laid.”

Jeongguk snickered and rolled his eyes before commenting, “I thought you and Min Yoongi had a thing going on…”

“That depends on your definition of _thing_ ,” Hoseok explains, “I mean, yeah we fuck and it’s nice but… I don’t know, it’s just that? Like. We fuck. It’s pleasant. Maybe it'd be nice if it were something more than that, but-... Anyways, this isn’t about me, quit changing the subject, you roach.”

“At least you can get laid. The guy I like won’t even acknowledge me,” Jeongguk grumbled in frustration.

“C’mon man, we came here for you to get over that asshole and you’re sitting here being a lil' bitch,” Hoseok teased. Jeongguk huffed. “How do you even know you like him?You know what we need to do? _We_ need to find _you_ somebody to go home with.”

“No thanks, I really don’t feel like contracting twelve different STDs tonight,” Jeongguk whined once again, but it was lost as Hoseok dragged him through the sea of people, stopping only to practically shove a shot down Jeongguk’s throat. He was finally starting to get into the swing of the party when a fluffy head of ashy brown hair appeared near Hoseok. Jeongguk froze, his heart leaping into his throat, a mantra of “ _oh fucking shit fuck off no fucking way fuck_ ” playing in his mind.

“Yo, Tae! What’s up!?” Hoseok laughed, doing the bro-clap-handshake thing with Kim-fucking-Taehyung. Jeongguk was gaping at his friend, hoping that his utter betrayal and burning hatred would pass over telepathically.

“Hi, Hoseok!” Taehyung responded, and oh _shit_ his voice was so deep it sent actual shivers down Jeongguk’s spine. “What’s up?”

“I was just bringing Jeonggukkie here out for a night!” Hoseok bragged, throwing an arm around Jeongguk’s shoulders and pulling him close.

“Ah, that’s dope! Man, I haven't seen you in forever,” Taehyung laughed, and by then Jeongguk was slightly confused; from what he could tell, Taehyung’s pronunciation was slightly off, certain letters drawn a wrong way, the words kind of… blending together, almost. Jeongguk blamed the alcohol and assumed Taehyung was as drunk, if not than more drunk, as him and Hoseok.

Despite the noisy surroundings, Jeongguk could feel awkwardness of silence approaching and he guessed Hoseok could sense it too as he was the one to break the silence.

“Hey, you know what? You two are a lot alike!” He declared, grabbing the two by their shoulders and pulling them into a group huddle.

“Oh, really? How?” Jeongguk smirked in disbelief, while Taehyung stayed silent.

“You both, uhhh… You’re both in that nightmare Professor Lee’s class! And, uhh. Neat!”

Jeonguk found himself, once again, rolling his eyes at his hyung.

“Yo, it’s really loud in here, we should leave now. Don’t you agree, Tae?” Hoseok said as he dragged the two out by their wrists, while Taehyung was in a state of confusion. “Let’s get some food, I’m starving!”

Jeongguk really didn’t know how the fuck he ended up here. One minute, Hoseok had been dragging them to the closest 24hr food joint they could find, the next, he was lip-locked with Min Yoongi and abandoning his friends to get laid. The two had just sat down in the slightly-uncomfortable booth, facing each other, though Jeongguk refused to look Taehyung in the face. Nerves were sizzling his brain, frying any rational thought he may have possessed.

After a bit more awkward silence, a waitress came over, smiling wide and holding a notepad.

“Hey boys, what can I get for you?” she chirped, her eyes trained on Jeongguk. The boy flushed slightly under her gaze, quickly letting out a soft “coffee, please.” Taehyung ordered a blueberry muffin and a tea, his eyes focused on the waitress the same way he looked at the teacher in class. Once she’d left, Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

“She seemed into you,” he teased, wiggling his fingers in Jeongguk’s direction. Jeongguk blushed again, shaking his head.

“She’s not really… my type,” Jeongguk admitted slyly. Unfortunately, this seemed to blow right over Taehyung’s head.

“Ohh, you’re picky, hmm? So what is your type, then?” Taehyung asked, somewhat interested. Jeongguk looked up, staring at Taehyung’s nose, his mouth, his chin, anywhere but his eyes.

“The type with dicks,” Jeongguk muttered without the slightest comprehension of what he’d said. Once the realization of his words hit him, he began to turn a new shade of red and he prayed it wasn’t that noticeable. Jeongguk began to sip on his coffee, trying to actually _drown himself._ During his suicide attempt, he managed to burn his tongue and then proceed to splutter once again before taking another (more careful) sip.

“Haha, dude. What a coincidence! I also love taking it up the ass.”

At that, Jeongguk almost spit out his drink.

 _Fucking hot coffee, fucking hot Kim Taehyung. Why the fuck is everything so hot?_ Jeongguk thought to himself as he quickly recovered from the incident.

Taehyung chuckled under his breath, causing the metaphorical ovaries Jeongguk possessed to erupt.

“Wait… Did you-,” he stuttered, “did you just assume I’m a bottom?” Jeongguk asked and received a faint ‘mhm’ from Taehyung in response.

“Excuse you, sir, but I am a top,” he stated proudly, beaming in confidence, though that feeling was short lived as the next thing Taehyung said made him slip back into the treacherous, seemingly never-ending abyss of embarrassment.

“Good, we’ll work well together then.”

Jeongguk became very flustered at that, his face and ears turning even redder than before, which was something that he thought would have been impossible. Taehyung found the situation quite amusing, smirking playfully before hitting Jeongguk lightly on the shoulder and then mumbling ‘it was just a joke bro.’

“Psshhh, what? I knew that!? Are you kidding-, I mean-! Of course, I knew that-” he spoke quickly, his words becoming jumbles of consonants and vowels. Jeongguk rambled on like that for a solid 5 minutes, not even noticing Taehyung, who had been focused but was now completely lost.

“Uh, could you repeat that? This time a little slower?” Taehyung asked, somewhat timidly, and that was the first time Jeongguk realized the hint of embarrassment in his tone.

“Oh, shit! Yeah, totally, I’m sorry, I just talk kinda fast sometimes I can’t really help it it’s like a nervous twitch or something-” Jeongguk resumed, at the same insane pace. He went on for a little longer, digging himself even further into a hole, not noticing Taehyung’s scrunched up face until the older boy let out a tiny squeak. Jeongguk looked up, startled, to see Taehyung, biting his lip.

“I-I’m really sorry but- I- I can't keep up, like, usually I’m pretty good at this but fuck you’re talking too fast,” Taehyung sighed, his voice higher pitched than normal. Jeongguk stared at his defeated expression with wide eyes.

“O-Oh! Um, what…?” he stammered, utterly lost. Taehyung scrunched up his eyebrows, also falling into a state of confusion.

“I mean, I just can’t...uh...y’know... read your lips when you talk that fast,” Taehyung admitted. Jeongguk blinked. Once, twice, until-"

Oh.

Oh, _fuck_.

The slurred words, the mispronunciation, the rapt attention in class.

_Kim Taehyung was deaf._

And Jeon Jeongguk was a _fucking idiot_ for not noticing sooner.

“Shit! Oh, I’m um. I’m...sorry,” Jeongguk said again, this time far too slow. Taehyung gave him a cold stare.

“Jeongguk. I’m deaf, not stupid,” Taehyung deadpanned. Jeongguk’s cheeks flamed again. “Just speak normally to me, like you were before… Also, if I ask you to say something again because I didn’t get it the first time, please don’t get mad…”

“Mad?” Jeongguk asked, frowning. Taehyung shrugged, stirring his tea idly.

“Yeah, like… I dunno… annoyed,” he elaborated. “I dunno, I had this ex who got super pissed all the time ‘cause I don’t pay enough attention and he’d have to struggle to get my attention, ‘n stuff.” Jeongguk could actually hear the insecurity and hesitance in Taehyung’s voice, and it made his blood boil.

“What the fuck? That’s horrible, Taehyung, what kind of actual human garbage would do that? It’s not your fault, who the fuck would get mad at you for not being able to _hear_ them, I-” Jeongguk vented, face scrunched up in anger. Taehyung, surprisingly, let out a tiny laugh.

“Jeongguk,” he interrupted, eyes squinted as he smiled. Jeongguk gulped, that rectangular smile drying his throat.

“Yeah?” he mumbled, glad Taehyung couldn’t hear the way his voice cracked.

“You’re doing it again,” Taehyung told him, voice tinged with amusement. Jeongguk startled, his eyes widening almost comically.

“Shit! I’m sorry-” Jeongguk began again. Taehyung shook his head, giggling again, in a way that twisted Jeongguk’s insides into a pulp.

“Let’s make a deal, hmm?” Taehyung offered. “I won’t get annoyed with your sonic ass voice, and you don’t get annoyed with my _deafness_ , okay?”

“But-”

“No buts. It’s a fair deal, yeah? Trust me, it gets annoying after awhile,” Taehyung laughed, though that same undertone of worry was hidden in it.

“Okay,” Jeongguk sighed finally if only to end the conversation before he got heated. Taehyung sent Jeongguk a relieved smile, one that melted the lump in his throat. His anger dissipated, shrivelled away and died along with most) of his nerves.

“By the way, what the fuck, you drink _tea_?”

Jeongguk was awakened by the slamming of a door.

“Yo Jeong _cock_ , you here?” Hoseok’s voice rang out, startling the younger even more before entering Jeongguk’s bedroom. Jeongguk shoved his pillow over his face in a vain attempt to cancel out Hoseok’s obnoxious yelling. He’d stumbled back home after his ‘meeting’ with Taehyung, proceeded to study for a few more hours and then promptly passed out.

“Why are you so energetic?” Jeongguk groaned. Hoseok shrugged, skipping over to sit on Jeongguk’s ribs. “Holy fuck, you shit, stop it!”

“I am glowing, I am reborn, I am-” Hoseok started, grinning. Jeongguk rolled over so that his hyung toppled over.

“Your fat ass was crushing me,” Jeongguk offered as an excuse. “Speaking of, how’s your ass doing?”

“You should be asking Yoongi that,” Hoseok hummed, “How was your date?”

“It wasn’t a date, fuck you.”

Hoseok snickered in disbelief. “That’s not what Taehyung said when he was texting me about it. Y’know, I can tell him that it was all a misunderstanding if you’d rather-”

“No! Wait, he texted you!? What did he say!? Gimme your phone!” Jeongguk said in a tone that reminded Hoseok of a child, trying to reach into Hoseok’s pocket for his phone. Hoseok shoved him away easily.

The eldest let out a hearty laugh, his lips poking upward into a dimpled smile.

“You’re so desperate! You gotta play hard to get,” Hoseok teased, “Taehyung just said that he enjoyed himself. He also said something about you not knowing he was deaf, dipshit,” Hoseok snickered, eyes glinting with mischief.

Looking back on the past encounter, Jeongguk grimaced from humiliation and his reaction did not go unnoticed.

“Seriously, dude? How did you not know?” he questioned, “I knew you were dumb, but I didn’t know you were _that_ dumb.”

Jeongguk pouted his lips and let out a loud huff, “Well it’s not like he was wearing a sign that said _‘yo I’m deaf’_! He seemed pretty normal and he didn’t do the hand thingy, like I didn’t even notice his slur until he told me,” he said and waved his arms around to try and get the point across.

“Hand thingy? You mean sign language,” Hoseok corrected, completely entertained by the current situation.

The youngest rolled his eyes, “Yeah, that… Y’know, I should be pissed at you right now.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“You didn’t tell me you knew Taehyung! You also forgot to mention him being deaf! Then you left us to go get laid by your fuck buddy!”

Slowly, Hoseok started to become more annoyed than amused by the conversation.

“There are plenty of Kim Taehyung’s out there! How was I supposed to know the exact Kim Taehyung I know is the one you were talking about?”

This earned an unimpressed look from Jeongguk.n“Look, honestly, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to freak out on me, kinda like you are now. Most people don’t stick around when they find out he’s-,” The abrupt ringing of a cell phone cut off Hoseok in the middle of his sentence.

The noise had startled Jeongguk, but had irritated his hyung further, who sighed while rolling his eyes.

“Are you going to pick that up, or...?” He asked, dragging out the pronunciation of the word _or_ to emphasise his impatience.

Jeongguk remained dumbfounded for a minute, the phone still ringing in the background, before searching for the device, which ended up being under a pile of opened books he’d been studying from. The screen was lit up brightly, a number unfamiliar to Jeongguk appearing on it. He furrowed his brows in a fine line, contemplating whether or not to answer the phone, though ultimately deciding to answer it and put it to his ear to hear the speaker.

“Hello?”

The hello was a weak attempt to see who was on the other end, Jeongguk half expecting it to be an automated telemarketer trying to sell him the newest over-the-counter drug out there or tell him he’s won a trip to the Bahamas, but what he wasn’t expecting was the sound of heavy breathing coming from the other end.

“Um, who is this?” he asked, receiving no answer right away.

“Hi,” the sound of his voice made Jeongguk freeze momentarily, “this is Kim Taehyung, Hobi’s friend and I can’t hear so I don’t know if you answered, but I figured this way you can’t reject me.”

Jeongguk listened carefully to what Taehyung had to say, hanging onto every word.

“You. Me. Date. Meet me around noon, on Saturday, right outside the Seoul train station… If you don’t show up I’ll just assume you either A. stood me up or B. legitimately didn’t get this call,” Taehyung blurted out, almost too fast for Jeongguk to comprehend. There was some more shuffling on the other end, muffled muttering, something along the lines of “what the fuck am I doing, I’m _deaf_ , Jesus,” before another deep breath. “Um, I’m hanging up now, goodbye.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Jeongguk called out, even though he knew it was useless as Taehyung hung up the phone.

The raven-haired boy still stood there, still as a post, in the middle of his room as his roommate watched him with a perplexed look on his usually smug face.

Slack-jawed, Hoseok asked, “Did Taehyung just… _call_ you?”

His question earned a faint ‘yes’ from his flabbergasted roommate.

“Taehyung. My small fluffy precious angel. My _deaf_ fluffy precious angel. He called you. To speak. Verbally. On the phone. What the fuck,” Hoseok stammered. He paused for a minute. “And you tried to talk to him, too. The deaf guy. Through the phone.”

“Y-Yes, I. I don’t know what just happened,” Jeongguk admitted. There was another moment of silence before Hoseok grinned, the somewhat tense atmosphere from their argument disappearing and slapped Jeongguk on the back.

“Congrats, dude. Go get some dick!”

Hoseok’s words did nothing to soothe the anxiousness he felt, if anything his words added to it. Those feelings were heightened even further when his phone produced a small _ting_ noise.

From: Unknown Number: _i hope u got that jfc what a horrible idea_

From: Unknown Number: _why am i liek this_

From: Unknown Number: _god what if hoseok gave me the wrong number. shit. this is taehyung by the way !!_

Jeongguk just stared, unable to move. Hoseok leaned over his shoulder, reading the texts and snickering.

To: Unknown Number: _Uh yeah this is Jeongguk, I got the message lol_

From: Unknown Number _: did u just “lol” me,,_

From: Unknown Number: _was my phone call that horrendous im kms_

From: Unknown Number: _pls ignore my ugly ass voice i am so Sorry_

Hoseok frowned when he read the last message.

“Please reassure the poor boy, Kookie. He’s fretting,” Hoseok whined. Jeongguk turned around to glare at him.

“What did you think I was gonna do, say ‘haha yeah that was fucking dumb’? Jesus Hoseok, I’ll fight you,” Jeongguk grumbled. Hoseok smacked him on the side of the head hard enough that Jeongguk dropped his phone. Hoseok saw that as a chance to snatch it, dive-bombing at Jeongguk’s feet. The younger boy didn’t hesitate, shoving a foot out and kicking his hyung in the ribs.

Once he’d successfully wrestled the phone back, he checked to see another message from Taehyung.

From: Unknown Number: _oh jeez oh shoot now im scaring you away im sorrY_

“Hoseok what have you _done_ ,” Jeongguk gasped in a dreadful voice. Hoseok groaned from his spot on the floor.

To: Unknown Number: _OHSHIT NO YOUR VOICE IS SO ADORABLE_

To: Unknown Number: _YOU’RE SO ADORABLE_

To: Unknown Number: _I MEAN LIKE I THINK YOURE CUTE BUT LIKE NOT IN A WEIRD WAY_

From: Unknown Number _: im getting mixed signals here guk_

From: Unknown Number: _do u mean like in a “no homo bro” way bc in that case gtggtggtg_

“Shit, you suck ass at this,” Hoseok snorted, now off the floor and once again reading the messages. Jeongguk made a noise halfway between a whine and a hiss.

To: Unknown Number: _No I mean it in a very homo way. So homo much wow._

From: Unknown Number: _did u just use. doge. omg this is it date cancelled_

To: Unknown Number: _Excuse you sir doge is a gift to this earth_

To: Unknown Number: _Also, who said I accepted?_

From: Unknown Number _: shit. touche. i guess me and my adorableness will have to find some other cute freshman to go on dates with,,,,,,,_

To: Unknown Number: _… What time and where do I meet you_

“My child! He’s growing up! He has a date! I need to call Jin. Oh my god,” Hoseok yelled, clapping Jeongguk on the back hard enough to draw a squeak from his throat.

He took a minute to change “Unknown Number” to “Taehyung.” Hoseok pouted at him after seeing the name.

“That's it? Just ‘Taehyung’?” Hoseok scolded. “How much do you wanna bet that Tae has you under ‘Gukkie’ with a heart or something?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jeongguk murmured.

From: Taehyung: _uhm i didnt think id get this far shit ok so give me a moment_

Hoseok snorted at the new message, shaking his head.

“What a little snowflake,” Hoseok purred, sounding like he was talking about a puppy or kitten, not a young man in college.

“I need an excuse to stop texting him so that I can go and scream,” Jeongguk whined. Hoseok hummed, his dimple appearing as he made a face.

“Tell him you’re waking me up or something,” Hoseok decided. Jeongguk nodded.

To: Taehyung: _While you think, I’ve gotta go wank Hoseok_

To: Taehyung: _**WAKE WAKE WAKE WAKE WAKE OH MY FUCKING GOD_

From: Taehyung _: woW I WASNT INVITED TO THIS WANKING PARTY,, IM SO OFFENDED,,, FUCK U GUYS_

To: Taehyung: _Oh my God im goign to die now byhe_

From: Taehyung: _noooo dont die before our date_

To: Taehyung: _Okay ill refrain from death until then_

To: Taehyung _: Text me the details later?_

From: Taehyung: _of course <3 see you _

“Hoseok he sent a heart I’m gonna faint,” Jeongguk nearly screamed, clutching at his chest dramatically. “Is my heart supposed to be beating this fast?” He asks concerned, feeling the erratic pounding in his chest.

“Get the fuck out, you _cheese_ ,” Hoseok snarled playfully.

Jeongguk wheezed, a legitimate wheeze, as he thought to himself, _I’d not only like to thank God but Jesus, for the blessing that is Kim Taehyung._

It took Jeongguk quite a bit of time to actually process the situation in front of him, leaving him shell-shocked as he sat on the ground of their ratty dorm contemplating if what just happened was real.

“Kim Taehyung. And me? A date.”

Saturday came quicker than Jeongguk anticipated and he was freaking out. Hoseok watched as Jeongguk paced impatiently around the cramped and messy room, running his fingers through his untamed hair, as he was deep in thought.

“Calm your dick bro, what’s the big deal? It’s just Tae,” Hoseok stated.

“That’s exactly it though! It’s Kim Taehyung, and I am so gay! Like, so gay, the gayest gay who ever gayed!” 

“Yeah, yeah. We get it, you're super gay, now stop rubbing your gayness in my face.” Hoseok joked.

Jeongguk had continued pacing, much to Hoseok’s dismay, before he came to a conclusion.

“I can’t do this, hyung. I'm just gonna text him and say I can't go,” said a very anxiety stricken Jeongguk.

He continued to ramble about just not going, even managing to grab his phone and start tapping away on the screen before it was snatched away from him.

“You will not cancel this date,” Hoseok said, as he then deleted everything Jeongguk had just typed.

Jeongguk whined in childlike mannerism, “Hey! Give me back my phone!”

“No!” Hoseok shouted as he moved the phone further away from Jeongguk’s outstretched hands, “I’m not letting you cancel this date! I worked so hard for this!”

The smaller boy fought against the other, desperately trying to grasp the phone.

“It’s my date, hyung! The fuck do you mean _you_ worked hard for it?!”

Hoseok managed to keep Jeongguk away long enough to send a text message to Taehyung, then right after handed the phone back. Jeongguk reopened his phone to see the message Hoseok had sent.

To: Taehyung: _looking forward to our date later lol_

When he saw the text, Jeongguk knew he was doomed. Sitting down on unmade bed with a sullen pout plastered to his face, he sighed in defeat.

“Why are you so worked up by this?” Hoseok asked, noticing his roommate's sudden change in behaviour.

“I don’t know,” answered Jeongguk, still staring down at the phone in his lap, “It’s just… I’ve never gone on an actual date with someone before. I like him so much and I’m afraid I’ll say something stupid.”

“Bullshit.”

Hoseok’s response earned a small, timid “what?” out of Jeongguk.

“Taehyung is deaf. If you say something stupid, he won’t be able to hear it anyway.”

There was a moment of silence, both boys staring at each other.

“Fuck, man, you’re right,” Jeongguk said dully. Hoseok nodded, grinning.

“See? There’s nothing to be worried about-”

“I’m still fucking terrified,” Jeongguk interrupted. “And outfitless.”

A loud whine escaped Hoseok’s throat as he collapsed to the floor, hands thrown out in despair. Jeongguk poked his unmoving figure with his socked feet, snorting out a laugh when Hoseok rolled over.

“I’ll just like, kill myself instead. That’d work, you know?” Jeongguk hummed, as if his plan was the best one he’d heard all night. Hoseok jumped up suddenly, face uplifted.

“I know!” He screamed. Jeongguk frowned.

“Simmer down sir,” he scolded. Hoseok ignored him.

“I’m calling Jin,” he decided. A choked noise escaped Jeongguk’s throat.

“Jesus Christ no,” Jeongguk whined, the noise high-pitched and pathetic. Hoseok was already scrambling out of the room to find his phone, giggling the whole way, tripping over stray clothes. Jeongguk sat down in the pile of clothing, eyeing the closet with longing. He cursed it silently in his head, thinking that Taehyung was probably already in some effortlessly beautiful outfit that made him look like an actual goddamn angel. Stupid Taehyung and his stupid cuteness.

“Jin? Hello mom, listen, we have an emergency,” Hoseok sighed dramatically as he strolled back into the room, Jin on speaker.

“ _What is it?_ ” Jin said, his voice oozing uninterest.

“Our baby Gukkie has his first date,” Hoseok sang, skipping around idiotically. Jeongguk tried to trip him, but only succeeded in stubbing his toe on the corner of a table.

“ _Are you kidding me? With who? What’s he wearing?”_ Jin asked, then paused. In a deeper, more serious voice, he said, “ _please, Hoseok. Whatever you do, don’t let him wear_ the pants.”

“Oh my God, there is nothing wrong with my overalls, okay?! They’re cute and comfortable-”

“Your opinion is irrelevant,” Hoseok cut in, glaring at where his overalls lay in the closet. “Anyways, mother dearest, we need you to come and save our boy from ruining his date- with Taehyung, mind you- by wearing a monstrosity.”

“ _As in actual angel Kim Taehyung?!_ _Don’t move, I’m on my way_ ,” Jin said, hanging up. Hoseok laughed, patting Jeongguk’s head.

“You’ll be okay, bro. He’s gonna make you look bangin’,” Hoseok reassured, but Jeongguk just shook his head in shock.

“Momma Jin has arrived!” Jin dramatically called swinging open the door to their dorm. Hugging Hoseok and Jeongguk quickly, before taking a step back and examining Jeongguk’s outfit. “-and rightfully so, I’m on time.”

“Honestly, this is bullying, I’m going to-”

“With that outfit, it’s community service, not bullying,” Jin sighed. Jeongguk pouted, crossing his arms and resisting the urge to stomp his foot. Hoseok was howling in the background, his laughter deafening.

Not even ten minutes later, Jin was shoving a bundle of clothes into Jeongguk’s arms.

“Try this, trust me.”

That pattern of Jin of handing Jeongguk clothes and forcing him to try them went on about twenty more times.

“I’m so proud of my son. He is growing up so fast,” Jin said in awe as he clung onto Jeongguk’s arm.

Jeongguk, who was looking at the outfit Jin had chosen for him, scowled.

“Hyung-,”

“Momma,” Jin corrected.

Jeongguk ripped his arm away from the other boy, “Oh fuck this, I am not calling you _momma_. I’m not a baby. What now? Do you expect me to start calling your boyfriend _daddy_?”

“Of course not, don’t be silly… That’s my nickname for Namjoon. You, my son… you can call him _papa._ ”

The youngest let out an exasperated noise, whispering something along the lines of _‘Jesus fucking Christ, someone end my suffering.’_

“C’mon Guk, give Jin a break. He can’t help it that he’s a basic, gay bitch.”

Jin scoffed at Hoseok’s remark, holding a hand to his chest dramatically before pretending to flip his hair.

“That’s _Queen_ bitch to you, sir.”

Before the conversation could develop further, Jeongguk interfered, “You know as much as I would _love_ to listen to you two bicker, I have a real problem at hand. What the fuck am I going to do about this date?”

Finally, after _too fucking long_ , Jin decided that Jeongguk’s outfit was acceptable. He was dressed somewhat casually, with a denim jacket thrown over a plain white shirt, the front slightly tucked into black skinny jeans.

“Perfect, now I just need my Timberl-”

“Don’t you fricking _dare_ I swear to God,” Jin screeched, smacking Jeongguk’s shoulder. Hoseok started laughing again and Jeongguk threw a lost sock at him.

“You’re wearing plain black boots or else I will tell Taehyung that you sleep in an Iron Man onesie,” Jin threatened. Jeongguk squaked.

“Mother _no_ ,” Jeongguk gasped. Jin pet his hair soothingly.

“You only call me mother when you’re scared or you want something,” Jin observed, tugging Jeongguk’s hair aggressively. Jeongguk pouted.

Their moment was interrupted by Jeongguk’s phone buzzing.

From: Taehyung: _heh are you standing me up?? I don’t see you at the station…_

“Fucking ass shit dick fuck shit bitch,” Jeongguk yelled, scrambling towards the front door.

“Excuse you?” Jin called after him, struggling to keep up.

“I’m late I’m late oh dear God he thinks I stood him up I need to go I need to leave-” Jeongguk cried, barely pausing for breath in between words.

In a rush, Jeongguk slipped on his shoes as he shoved his phone and wallet into his back pocket.

“Good luck! Be safe! Use protection!” Hoseok called. Jeongguk stuck up the middle finger.

“I’m on birth control it’s _fine_ ,” he jokingly returned, slamming the door before his bothersome friends could say anything back.

Jeongguk sprinted to the train station, thankful for his days spent at the gym. By the time he arrived, he was sweaty and gross, panting and searching frantically for Taehyung.

It didn’t take him long to spot the other, his angelic beauty hard to miss. He was leaned up against the station wall, lean legs crossed lightly, straining the material of his black skinny jeans. He was dressed simply in a white shirt and grey cardigan, looking so _fluffy_ that Jeongguk wanted to jump in front of a train.

Upon further inspection, he noticed Taehyung’s slumped posture, the sad turn of his lips and the way his eyes were focused on the ground.

“Taehyung!” he called out, then stopped, feeling stupid. _He’s deaf. What the fuck_.

He speed-walked to Taehyung, subtly wiping as much sweat as he could off his forehead. The older boy startled as he was approaching, the nervous, worried look that had previously been settled on his face disappearing.

“Jeongguk!” Taehyung called happily, giggling. “You scared me.” Jeongguk melted a little bit.

“Sorry I’m late! I really didn’t mean to, I-”

“Oh, no, it’s okay, really, I just- for a second I, uh, thought you maybe didn’twannagooutwithme,” Taehyung said in a rush. Jeongguk frowned, deciphering the scrambled mess of words. Taehyung took that as a cue to continue.

“Which, I mean, is understandable! Like, I get it, I’m not really all that exciting and wow, you probably said yes out of pity, now I feel bad-”

“Oh, jeez, I feel like a douchewad,” Jeongguk groaned. Taehyung shook his head.

“No, you’re fine! I overreacted, really-”

“No, Taehyung, I-”

The train pulled up, interrupting their awkward fumbling.

A loud, monotonous voice then blared over the PA system.

_“All passengers boarding Train Route 421, please proceed to Gate 4.”_

Jeongguk listened to the announcement, Taehyung in a state of befuddlement.

“C’mon, that’s our train.”

“What?” Taehyung asked confused.

“The PA just announced it, our train is here.”

Taehyung chuckled awkwardly, though Jeongguk couldn’t sense his discomfort through his open mouth smile, _“Whoops, silly me…”_ He mumbled under his breath.

The two boys boarded the almost empty train, which was surprising since trains to Gangnam were usually always filled to the brim of overcapacity. Jeongguk made a _‘hmff’_ in confusion. It was only about half-full in the cart with them, most passengers just minding their own business.

“This is nice,” Jeongguk breathed out, before once again remembering that Taehyung was deaf.

His phone buzzed, causing him to jump and therefore causing Taehyung to jump. The message was from Jin, unsurprisingly, in all capitals.

From: Mama Jin: _BE SAFE BBY ILY USE PROTECTION BRING HIM BACK HOME FOR DINNER_

Jeongguk slammed his phone down, rubbing his forehead. Taehyung raised a questioning eyebrow to which Jeongguk replied with a helpless shrug.

Taehyung filled in the awkward silences, chatting about aimless things and humming out of tune hymns. Though, due to his lack of hearing, Taehyung couldn’t tell they were off-tone. Jeongguk found this quite endearing and had cracked a small closed-mouth smile, earning a questioning _‘hmm’_ from Taehyung.

“Nothing,” Jeongguk breathed out light-heartedly, now trying to hide his smile, and Taehyung, being slightly obliviously, continued to hum.

He couldn’t help the bubbly feeling he got when he looked at Taehyung, he was unable to compare it to anything else he had felt before. The feeling welled up in his throat, restricting his vocal chords, and all he could do was stare at Taehyung in awe. 

Instinctively, Jeongguk reached a hand out to cover Taehyung’s, his heart stuttering to a stop when he realized what he did.

 _Oh shit tits, why the fuck-_ Jeongguk thought, his eyes widening. He went to take his hand back, an apology on his lips, when Taehyung let out the softest, purest giggle that Jeongguk had ever heard. Lacing their hands together.

“Cute,” he laughed, letting his head fall onto Jeongguk’s shoulder the rest of the way. Jeongguk stiffened at first, but slowly melted against Taehyung as well.

They sat like that for a good amount of time, the train conductor over the PA had let the passengers know their stop was coming up. He went to tell Taehyung, only to find the boy had fallen asleep.

Jeongguk looked down at the sleeping figure on his shoulder, a soft noise escaping his throat when he saw Taehyung’s nose crinkle slightly in his sleep. He expected Taehyung to wake up to the loud buzz of the comm, before remembering.

“Oh fucking hell,” Jeongguk sighed, bringing a hand up to smooth Taehyung’s wild bangs. “This is so creepy. I feel like something out of a fucking drama, shit. I like you way too much, stop being so fucking cute.”

Jeongguk let himself vent to the sleeping boy, observing the slope of his perfect nose and the permanent rosy blush on his stupidly high cheekbones and his dumb lashes that brushed against his cheeks whenever his eyes moved. Fuck, Kim Taehyung. But also, _fuck_ Kim Taehyung.

Jeongguk noticed one of his dark eyelashes on his face, resting just under his eye. Being the good, _not creepy_ person that Jeongguk was, he brought his thumb over to brush it off gently, letting his finger smooth over Taehyung’s silky, golden skin. The boy started shuffling around, literally goddamn nuzzling into Jeongguk’s shoulder, making every muscle in Jeongguk’s body tense up.

“Shit, no, don’t wake up yet, sleep sleep sleep-” Jeongguk rambled, not moving. Eventually, Taehyung settled down again.

It was after he almost was woken that Jeongguk fully realized the fact that Taehyung needed to wake up, since their stop was about five minutes away.

“Ah, fucking-” Jeongguk groaned, huffing out a pained breath. He then nudged Taehyung softly to try and get him to wake up, causing the boy to stir.

“ _Gukkie?_ ‘S it time ta get off?” A very sleepy, Taehyung asked as he rubbed his eyes with his _f_ _ucking sweater paws_. Jeongguk could barely tell the husky, raspy, slightly needy voice from Taehyung’s usual deep rumble. Jeongguk smacked his head against his seat.

All of Jeongguk’s breathing had stopped when Taehyung nuzzled further into his shoulder, now clutching onto a handful of his t-shirt, and with his leg now swung over so it was also pressed against Jeongguk’s lower torso. This earned a couple reactions from the riders in the cart with them, earning the embarrassment of having a little boy point at them too, who Jeongguk presumed to be, his mother.

Once again, Jeongguk nudged Taehyung in an attempt to wake him without having to disturb him too much.

Taehyung protested again, his goddamn glorious thigh rubbing right up against Jeongguk’s dick.

“Hah shit,” Jeongguk gasped out, squirming away, but Taehyung was fucking _clinging_ to him and _yep now I’m sporting a semi_.

“Oh my god, I’m a dirty pervert and I’m going to hell,” Jeongguk groaned quietly. Taehyung made a soft moaning noise, so fucking sensual that Jeongguk was praying to Jesus. This got them another dirty look from the mother as she tried to shield her child’s eyes.

 _He can’t be sleeping. There’s no fucking way anyone sounds like that when sleeping,_ Jeongguk thought. Taehyung shifted again, turning his head so that his lips brushed Jeongguk’s neck.

“Fucking son of a -”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the Gangnam stop, thank you for riding with us,” the comm buzzed again. Taehyung’s thigh dug into Jeongguk’s (kind of hard) dick one more time before the boy was stretching, letting out a fake yawn and jumping to his feet.

“Oh, we’re here!” he chirped. Jeongguk was gaping, a hand obviously over his crotch. “You okay?”

“Fine!” Jeongguk wheezed, willing himself to calm the fuck down.

Taehyung had opened his mouth to say something, but the doors of the train opened right as he was about to speak. Jeongguk took this chance to grab hold of Taehyung’s arm and not look back at the other passengers.

Once they got out train and exited up the stairs that brought them up to the surface.

“Isn’t that cool?” Taehyung asked in amazement as he stretched his arms above his head, causing multiple cracking sounds.

Taehyung was making direct eye to eye contact, more like lip to eye contact, with Jeongguk, waiting patiently for the boy to speak.

“Uh, what’s cool?”

“Just the subway. We get on the train and we’re above ground and then-” Taehyung briefly paused between speaking to show emphasization, “-we’re below ground, all the way in Gangnam!”

Jeongguk chuckled at how Taehyung was so easily impressed by the mundane things in life.

“Yeah, I guess that is pretty cool.”

The two walked for a while, taking turns whenever Taehyung said to, and stopping to look at the occasional odd-mannequin in a store window they happened to come across. After about 20 minutes of walking without a sense of as to where they were going, Jeongguk’s curiosity got the best of him.

“So,” he asked, dragging out the word for as long as he could, “where are we heading to? We’ve been walking for awhile…”

Taehyung responded with his signature cheesy smile, “It’s a secret, but don’t worry we’re almost there.”

Jeongguk let out an annoyed huff, not that Taehyung noticed anyway. He hated surprises, always had, always will, but the smile he saw on Taehyung’s face made him hate them a little less. Just a little.

They continued walking, Taehyung stopping them abruptly in front of what looked like an aquarium.

“Ta-dahh!”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Jeongguk murmured under his breath. Taehyung pouted.

The sulky expression had caused Jeongguk to panic inside

“You don’t like it… Do you?” Taehyung asked, looking down at the ground awkwardly as he kicked his feet around nervously.

When Taehyung looked up at him, Jeongguk began to stutter.

“Yes, wait no. I mean no, yes?” Jeongguk stammered quickly, hardly taking breaths between the words. “I mean I, fuck. Shit, no I mean just - fuck. Holy fucking shit. I mean, I love it! _It’scuteyou’recuteeverythingiscuteokay_ , okay?”

Taehyung chuckled, while Jeongguk choked up.

“Oh Jesus Christ, please tell me you couldn’t read a word I just said.” Jeongguk’s response caused Taehyung’s laughter to grow even more.

Taehyung continued to chuckle as Jeongguk stood there awkwardly, his face flushing up in embarrassment.

“Ya wanna know something, Guk?” Taehyung asked when his laughing came to a halt. Jeongguk’s eyes flashed with worry, afraid of what Taehyung had to say to him. “I think you’re pretty cute too…”

Jeongguk wanted to die right there and then, if he did at least he would’ve been happy. At that moment, Jeongguk was jealous of Taehyung’s deafness, as he couldn’t sense the awkward silences because to him everything was silent and it was no longer uncomfortable.

“Woah, do you think we’ll see a sea cucumber?” Taehyung asked suddenly. Jeongguk looked down at him, once again baffled by his weirdness.

“Uh, maybe? Why _that_? Not a, like, shark or something?” Jeongguk snorted. Taehyung looked over, grinning sheepishly.

“It kinda looks like a dick,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing. Jeongguk choked.

“What kind of dicks have you been looking at?!” Jeongguk half-yelled, much too loudly. He blushed bright red, covering his face with his hands while Taehyung laughed, dragging him inside.

The two of them ran from exhibit to exhibit, Taehyung dragging Jeongguk along by the hand and talking to all the fish. Jeongguk watched Taehyung explain the different types of fish to him, excited and passionate, pointing out his favourites.

Eventually, they came around to a shark exhibit, Taehyung’s face dulling slightly.

“Did you know that sharks can sense electricity? They don’t really hear, they just kind of… sense the electrical waves. It’s cool, huh?” Taehyung paused, face darkening slightly. “I wish I was a shark. If I was a shark then I wouldn’t be like… this. I’d be considered normal, y’know?”

Jeongguk frowned, not quite knowing what to say. He tightened his grip on Taehyung’s hand, keeping his face cool.

“I mean, you’d be a pretty shitty shark. You’d have to eat other fish, and I don’t think you could manage that,” Jeongguk sighed. Taehyung smiled, face brightening again much to Jeongguk’s relief.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right… C’mon now, I wanna go look at the jellyfish!” Taehyung cheered, once again dragging Jeongguk along with him, this time in the direction of the jellyfish exhibit.

They continued on through to the different exhibits; jellyfish, eels, stingrays, basically every sea creature Jeongguk could think up was there. Jeongguk was having a difficult time keeping up with an excited Taehyung, who was far too hyper, running from exhibit to exhibit, almost ploughing down children in the process. Though, Taehyung’s hyperactive attitude didn’t bother Jeongguk in the slightest; in fact, it just made him enjoy Taehyung’s presence more. By the time they were finished looking at and taking pictures of all the exhibits it was about an hour before dinner time. Taehyung and Jeongguk weren’t hungry yet, in order to kill some time they looked around in the aquarium’s overly priced gift shop. Jeongguk was on the opposite side of the store than Taehyung when he heard the older boy calling for him.

“Guk! Come over here, ya gotta check this out!” Taehyung shouted a little too loudly, getting odd looks from onlookers. In an instant, Jeongguk was by Taehyung’s side.

“What? What is it?” He asked.

“Just look,” Taehyung said overjoyed as he pointed at the big mechanical box in front of them, earning a small ‘ _oh’_ from Jeongguk, “it’s one of those photobooth thingies where you go inside of it!”

Jeongguk took another look at the photobooth, examining it. Nothing was special about it, just a plain old run of the mill photobooth, the same type you’d see at a shopping centre, but the enthusiastic smile Taehyung had on his face said otherwise.

Taehyung quickly yanked Jeongguk into the photobooth, closing the curtain that was there. Jeongguk sat on the little stool that was provided, while Taehyung stood behind him.

“Okay, so like… How do these work?” Taehyung asked innocently, genuinely uncertain.

Jeongguk shrugged, “You kind of just-,” he rambled off as he clicked multiple buttons and inserted money in the slot.

A timer counting down from ten seconds started.

“Okay, so it’ll go nice, silly, scary and then cute,” Taehyung said.

Since he was taller, to make sure Taehyung was in the frame he crouched down, resting his hands on Jeongguk’s shoulders. This caused the younger boy to tense up momentarily.

“Smile!”

The flash blinded Jeongguk momentarily, probably making his eyes squint weirdly, but he didn’t mind; Taehyung was laughing, quickly trying to pose for the next one. As if they had read each other's minds’, both put peace signs up to their cheeks with silly open mouth grins on their faces, tongues sticking out slightly. Another blinding flash, causing both Jeongguk and Taehyung to squint their eyes in annoyance.

“Fuck,” Taehyung grumbled in his melodic voice, “deaf and blind, damn. Whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty good man.”

Jeongguk couldn’t help but burst into laughter just as the next photo was taken. He gasped after, looking at Taehyung.

“Oh, no, that probably looked so ugly!” Jeongguk whined, smacking his forehead on the side of the booth. Taehyung snorted at him.

“Nothing about you could ever be ugly, you meatball,” Taehyung scolded before noticing the timer counting down for the next photo.

“Oh fuck-” he gasped, quickly trying to pose. Jeongguk was laughing again.

“What’re we gonna do?!”

The two were panicking, now only two seconds before the timer went off. Jeongguk did the only pose he could think of, turning his head to peck Taehyung’s cheek.

Taehyung seemed to have the same idea, and just as the flash blinded them once more, their lips connected. At the contact of their lips, Jeongguk’s eyes flickered open.

The kiss was very brief, pulling away from each other quickly, blush rising on both their cheeks.

“I, hmm,” Taehyung started looking down at the ground, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

A small ding went off signalling that their photos were ready, the ding had been Jeongguk’s saviour from the awkward fumble.

He stood up and exited, going to the side of the photobooth where the photos were distributed.

 _Did that count? Was that our first kiss? Oh god fuck, that can’t be our first kiss,_ Jeongguk panicked to himself, _what if I never get another chance to kiss him and that’s what I’ll be remembered by, oh shit! Fuck, okay, I’ll- I’ll kiss him later, yeah, it’ll be good, it’ll be fine._

His thoughts were interrupted by Taehyung, who he hadn’t even noticed until now.

“Aww, these are so cute!” Taehyung started looking at the pictures, “Do you mind if I keep them?”

Words couldn’t form in Jeongguk’s mouth, let alone escape it. Taehyung stood there patiently waiting for Jeongguk to respond, only to get a head nod in response.

They had been walking around Gangnam for about an hour when Taehyung mentioned he was hungry. Jeongguk began gushing about his favourite American food stand, stomach grumbling, when Taehyung stopped him.

“Jeongguk,” he said, dead serious. “Sushi.”

“What the fuck, Tae, we literally just watched fish for two hours, and now you want to _eat_ them?” Jeongguk laughed, watching Taehyung pout.

“They won’t be mad at me,” he argued. “If they knew how good sushi tasted, I’m sure the fish wouldn’t mind.” Jeongguk actually choked on his spit. He choked a lot around Taehyung. He blushed as an afterthought, coughing into his hand and leading Taehyung towards a sushi restaurant. 

They were seated quickly, in a far corner, away from the busyness of rush hour.

The waitress came around to their table and asked if she could take their orders, Jeongguk, who hadn’t even glimpsed at the menu, panicked and glanced towards Taehyung desperately. Taehyung hummed quietly, ordering his dish and then looking back towards Jeongguk.

“If you order this, we can share,” he offered. Jeongguk agreed to Taehyung’s suggestion.

The waitress wrote down their order and turned her heels in the opposite direction, scuttling away towards the kitchen. While Taehyung and Jeongguk waited for the food, they talked and joked around like normal guys in their twenties; they talked about their worries, their embarrassing moments, what has been troubling them at school and work, and everything in between, from dick jokes to the time Taehyung almost got fired from his part-time job.

The waitress eventually came back with their food, placing it on the table in front of them. They thanked her before she left to serve the next customer.

Jeongguk and Taehyung just sat there, talking to one another for what felt like a mere few minutes when in reality it had been a few hours, completely enfolded in immersive conversations. They hadn’t realized how much time had passed until they had finished their first plate. Taehyung, whose stomach still growled from hunger, ordered Jeongguk and himself more sushi.

Jeongguk was no longer hungry, but he would hate to see such food go to waste. He poked at his sashimi, that Taehyung insisted he try, with his plastic chopsticks.

“Do you not like it?” Taehyung asked, furrowing his brows.

The sudden questioning startled Jeongguk, who began to stutter, “N-no, no! It’s not that - I swear - it’s just-”

He continued to ramble off, forgetting that Taehyung couldn’t understand him when he did that.

“Here,” Taehyung said, holding his chopsticks up to Jeongguk’s mouth, “try this, it’s really good.”

As Jeongguk was about to interject saying he wasn't hungry anymore, Taehyung softly pressed the sushi roll to Jeongguk’s lips, coercing Jeongguk into eating it.

Taehyung watched intently for a reaction out of Jeongguk.

“Sooo?’ Taehyung asked, dragging out the pronunciation of the word as long as he could.

Jeongguk was still chewing, a hand instinctively covering his mouth from embarrassment.

He mangled to choke out a quick “it’s good” between bites.

Taehyung giggled softly, “I’m glad you like it!”

Jeongguk’s heart was fluttering, his face obviously turning red. Taehyung was so _pretty_ , what the fuck. His stupid ass giggle was honestly the best thing Jeongguk had ever heard, he wanted it as his ringtone, his alarm tone, his goddamn _doorbell-_

“Jeongguk?” Taehyung interrupted. Jeongguk choked a little bit.

“Yeah?”

“Are you gonna let me try yours?”

At that Jeongguk froze for a moment, choking up.

 _Fuck, fuck, holy fucking shit,_ he thought.

He recollected his thoughts and scattered the table to find where he had put down his chopsticks. Once he found his chopsticks, he then carefully picked up a piece of his sashimi with them. Taehyung, the literal epitome of perfection in Jeongguk’s eyes, had the most beautiful expression. His eyes twinkled as he stared at Jeongguk, his lips curled upward into a dimpled smile and his hand pressed against his cheek, his elbow resting on the table for support.

“Umm, ahhh?” Jeongguk said, regretting it immediately.

“Uhhhhhh,” Taehyung said, his mouth open as he hummed.

Jeongguk slowly and carefully put the food up to Taehyung’s mouth, waiting impatiently for Taehyung to bite.

 _Goddamn,_ Jeongguk thought to himself as he watched Taehyung nibble slowly.

Jeongguk couldn’t help but notice how Taehyung still managed to look good while eating. He watched the sharp cut of his jaw, the way his lips took in the food and chewed it timidly. Without even noticing it, Jeongguk was absent mindedly leaning in towards Taehyung, closer to him and his lips. Jeongguk couldn’t resist the wandering thoughts of Taehyung’s lips around something _else-_

“It’s good!” Taehyung chirped. Jeongguk nodded absentmindedly. Taehyung frowned.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Taehyung asked. Jeongguk shook his head quickly.

“No, ah, I, um. I just wondered how your… uh… your speech! How it’s um, so, good?” Jeongguk fumbled. Taehyung laughed, but it wasn’t in the same way that Jeongguk was used to- it was reserved and insecure.

“Hmm, well. When I was dating my ex, he- I told you already, he complained about my speech, so I took some classes about pronunciation. They really helped a lot,” Taehyung explained.

Before Jeongguk analysed the meaning behind Taehyung’s tone, he blurted out the first thing that came to his head, “Oh! So, like speech therapy?”

“Yeah, I guess…” The awkward silence that filled afterwards made Jeongguk realise how he made Taehyung feel uncomfortable.

As Jeongguk opened his mouth to apologize for alienating him, Taehyung spoke.

“This is good sushi, isn’t it?” Taehyung asked, continuing to eat and trying to ignore what happened.

“Yeah, it’s good. Really, _really_ good...”

The rest of the night had been spent without another word spoken, the train ride and taxi agonizingly quiet, and, still to Jeongguk’s dismay, it was all coming to an end. Being the gentlemen he was, Taehyung had offered to walk Jeongguk back to his dorm in the dark. They now stood in front of the dorm, silence engulfing them as they waited for the other to speak, afraid to be the one to talk first.

Jeongguk caressed the nape of his neck with his large hand, looking down at the ground before looking back up at Taehyung. He admired him secretly: the way his hair was pushed up out of his face, ashy brown strands falling out here and there. The sole, lonely light-bulb that Jeongguk kept forgetting to change flickered, the dim lighting casting perfect shadows across Taehyung’s cheekbones and nose, the yellowish glow unable to hide his radiant skin tone. Jeongguk watched, entranced, as Taehyung’s tongue flicked out of his mouth to wet his lips, his dark eyes raising to meet Jeongguk’s.

Without even realizing, the two had drawn closer together, standing close enough to one another that Jeongguk could feel Taehyung’s uneven breath on his face. Jeongguk’s eyes flickered back and forth from the deep brown depths of Taehyung's eyes to the pinkness of his lips.

They didn’t really know who was the one that initiated it, but they somehow managed to find themselves intertwined, mouths press together like two pieces of the same puzzle, hands snaked around each other’s hips. Jeongguk admired the way he fit perfectly with Taehyung, meshing together cohesively. The kiss heated quickly, Jeongguk using his hand to cup Taehyung’s chin and tilt his head back, deepening the kiss considerably. Somewhere inside the building, a loud bang sounded, but Jeongguk couldn’t find it in himself to pull away; Taehyung had pulled away to breathe, eyelashes fluttering prettily as he tipped his head back, mouth slightly ajar, and Jeongguk couldn’t help but lean in, his own lips brushing the smooth skin of his neck. He was about to press his thigh between Taehyung’s legs when another bang sounded, followed by a muffled “Jin you fucking cockblock, just let the kid _live_!”

The door suddenly came slamming open, whacking Jeongguk’s side. Taehyung jumped about thirty feet into the air, almost choking on his spit.

“Young man, what do you think you’re doing?!” Jin shrieked, coming over to where the two were still standing closely. Taehyung was blushing, eyes flickering from Jeongguk to Jin wildly. Jeongguk, on the other hand, was burying his face in his hands.

“Jin, for the love of _god-_ ”

“Hello, Taehyung, nice seeing you. I’m going to have to take Jeongguk inside now, since he was just trying to _take your innocence_ on this step, and also it’s past his bedtime and we need to have _the talk_. Goodnight, Taehyung, see you soon,” Jin rambled, grabbing Jeongguk’s wrist and dragging him inside. Taehyung opened his mouth to protest, probably to ask what the fuck was happening, but before he could say anything the door was being slammed again.

“Wow, nice going buzzkill. How do you feel now that you ruined this young one’s only chance at getting laid?” Hoseok asked, poking fun at Jin.

Jin gave Hoseok a dirty look, “Are you not in the slightest bit concerned that our son just tried _deflowering_ himself?” Jin asked as he paced around the room ruffling his hair and mumbling to himself, _“Oh my gosh we haven’t even had the talk with him yet, he’s growing up too fast.”_

“Uh uh, excuse you, I am taking no part in your weird _mommy_ fetish,” Hoseok said jokingly with slight disgust.

Jin was opening his mouth to say something when Jeongguk intervened, “Hey, guys?” He asked softly, “Could you, please, not talk like I’m not standing right here?”

“Shut up, Jeongguk!” The two older men yelled in unison, causing Jeongguk to inwardly flinch.

The argument between Jin and Hoseok progressed from there, and Jeongguk found himself sneaking his way past them into the bedroom he shared with Hoseok, hearing bits and pieces of the fight as he closed the door, separating them using the thin walls that the dorm offered.

The last thing Jeongguk heard before collapsing to his bed was Jin saying, “Oh my god, I can’t believe you’d say that! I am not a _flamboyant gay_!” before Hoseok retorted by saying, in a condescending tone, “Okay, ‘ _mama_ _Jin_.’”

Jeongguk let out an exhausted sigh, knowing Jin would still be on his ass about this in the morning. He sat back up and removed his clothes, changing into more comfortable sleeping attire, as well as removed his shoes, something Jin would also yell at him about later. Jeongguk could practically hear Jin scolding him already. He finally let himself close his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

Right as he was about to let sleep wash over him and consume his body, Jeongguk heard his phone _ping_ , letting him know he had a notification. Jeongguk groaned in annoyance, rolling over in his bed to reach for his phone. He hit the one button on his smartphone, the brightness blinding him momentarily in the pitch black room, causing him to wince and grimace at the light.

“The light of a thousand suns,” Jeongguk groggily grumbled, “I have seen it.”

Once his vision oriented itself, he noticed a message from Taehyung.

From: Taehyung: _heyoo i had a hella good time!! ur great, hmu when you wanna go out again!!_

Jeongguk’s heart shrivelled up and then burst, like the way a water balloon does when you squeeze it in your hand. Automatically, he started to panic, typing out four different messages before deciding.

To: Taehyung: _Yeah, me too!!! Hope to see you soon!!!_

Jeongguk realized that he sounded like a distant aunt texting a family member a moment too late; the message was already sent. He then noticed that Taehyung had two exclamation points and he put three and that he probably sounded way too excited.

Lying in bed, staring into the darkness, he found himself thrilled at the thought of seeing Taehyung in class Monday. Before he went to sleep, he smiled at the last message Taehyung sent.

From: Taehyung: _aaa yes!! ill see you soon <3 _

Monday came and went with no sign of Taehyung. Jeongguk was slightly concerned, but he felt too clingy, so he refrained from texting Taehyung.

Tuesday came and went as well, still, Taehyung was nowhere to be found. By Wednesday, when Taehyung was again a no-show, Jeongguk got even more worried. This time he couldn’t refrain from beginning to type a message to Taehyung, though before he could press send his professor asked him to stay by after class so they could talk, distracting Jeongguk.

Jeongguk was beyond perturbed, but his worries seemed to fade away when he saw Taehyung and then reappear when he saw the poor boy’s expression. The usual glow of Taehyung’s skin was now dull and sickly looking, his eyes didn’t have their normal gleam and instead were joined by dark bags, purple from lack of rest. That was the first time Jeongguk saw Taehyung in a bad mood, never before had Jeongguk seen the way his lips curved downwards in a pained frown.

Not wanting to upset Taehyung further, Jeongguk decided he wasn’t going to bother him today and just let him rest, just one more day.

And then Friday came. Jeongguk was late to class that day, meaning he couldn’t catch Taehyung in time to talk to him and would have to wait until after class.

After a torturous two hours, it was finally time to leave. Jeongguk caught up to Taehyung quickly, smiling already, but Taehyung wasn’t even looking his way.

“Um, hi-” Jeongguk started, gently grabbing Taehyung’s wrist to notify that he was speaking. Taehyung didn’t even bother to read his lips.

“I’m really sorry, Jeongguk, but I have to go,” he muttered, voice sounding so dull and lifeless that Jeongguk snatched his hand away quickly.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said back, but Taehyung was already heading out the door. Jeongguk bit his lip, sensing that something was wrong but choosing to not burden Taehyung any more than he already had.

The next day, Hoseok rudely interrupted his moping.

“C’mon, dude. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and come to the party with me.”

Jeongguk nuzzled his head further into his pillow, mumbling out inaudible words.

“Um excuse me, I didn’t quite get all of that,” Hoseok replied sharply.

Jeongguk brought his head up and glared at his roommate, “I don’t want to go.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter what you want, because you’re going,” he stated as he shuffled through Jeongguk’s closet and throwing clothes on the bed, “get dressed, we’re going out.”

Letting out a loud sigh, Jeongguk took another gulp straight from the bottle. The party was BYOB, and knowing Hoseok, they had no lack of alcohol stashed around the dorm in secret places for safekeeping. Another thing Jeongguk knew going into this party, Hoseok was a flake. He’d always abandon the younger boy at parties and go off to play drinking games or to find more booze then never returning, and this time was no different. Hoseok’s partying habits were apart of the reason Jeongguk disliked going out so much. Jeongguk wondered why he always let himself get roped up in these situations,

Other people were having fun being wasted, dancing while drenched in their own perspiration, while Jeongguk was sitting alone on a ratty old couch, slowly getting himself drunk. He was watching people, watching them have fun carelessly while he grumbled miserably.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of familiar hair, the sight making him sit up.

Taehyung was there, but Jeongguk could tell right away that something was off. His posture alone was different, more slouched and less twitchy. Jeongguk bit his lip, drunk enough to submit to his urge of talking to him, but before Jeongguk could even stand, a short, orange-haired boy was patting Taehyung on the back.

Seeing Taehyung’s face was another shock to Jeongguk, the foreign expression on his face shattering Jeongguk’s heart. He looked so tired, absolutely exhausted, eyes only half-lidded. They widened at the sight of the orange-haired boy, happiness flickering through the layer of exhaustion as the two hugged passionately. Jeongguk’s mouth tasted sour suddenly, throat closing up painfully as he watched the orange-haired boy squishing Taehyung’s face. The two of them were so close and touchy, always clinging off each other, talking animatedly. At one point, the orange-haired boy leaned in so close that Jeongguk was convinced that they were going to kiss.

Eventually, the two of them got lost in the crowd again, and Jeongguk was left to watch strangers come and go. He didn’t know how much time passed before he decided to leave, unable to sit and stir in his self-pity any longer.

Outside, he inhaled the fresh air greedily, scolding himself for agreeing to come to the party in the first place. He got lost in his own thoughts as he descended the stairs, eyes downcast, so out of it that he hardly noticed Taehyung until they were almost right in front of each other.

“Oh,” Jeongguk said flatly, “I didn’t know you were here.” His face must have given away the lie because Taehyung tilted his head.

“Is something wrong? You look upset,” he asked, so disgustingly caring and sweet that Jeongguk’s anger rose.

“No, I’m _perfect,_ amazing actually. Having a _great_ time since my best-friend ditched me,” Jeongguk grumbled miserably, his words bitter and laced with sarcasm.

Taehyung perked up a little, “I’m not feeling too well, _probably_ just the booze, so I should get going soon… Hey, maybe we can walk back to the dorms together. How about it?”

“I don’t know, why not ask your boyfriend to take you?” Jeongguk asked, his voice dripping with hostility. Taehyung was taken back by Jeongguk’s little outburst, his eyes becoming a mixture of sadness and confusion.

“My… boyfriend?” he muttered. Jeongguk grit his teeth at Taehyung’s attempt at hiding it.

“Whatever, Taehyung,” Jeongguk spat.

Taehyung ruffled his hair awkwardly, “I guess that’s a no… Well, I’ll see you in class.”

“Sure, you will,” Jeongguk sighed. Taehyung flinched away, the sight shockingly similar to a puppy being scolded, and slowly turned around, walking away from Jeongguk slowly.

Jeongguk carefully watched Taehyung stumbling away thrown the crowd. Taehyung took five steps away from where he was before tripping a bit, then another five steps before his knees buckled in and he dropped to the ground.

All the anger and bitterness Jeongguk felt prior had disappeared; he immediately stood up, rushing over to Taehyung’s fallen figure.

“Ow,” Taehyung said, trying to sit up with the help of Jeongguk’s arm supporting his back.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Jeongguk asked wide-eyed. He was worried about Taehyung.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just a lil' cold,” Taehyung said like it was nothing, but Jeongguk could tell that wasn’t the case by looking at his sickly figure.

Shakily, Taehyung began to rise back up to his feet, his legs wobbling.

“Do you got it?” Jeongguk asked as he helped Taehyung steady himself.

“Yeah, I’m fine…”

Jeongguk released his hands from Taehyung, letting the boy try and orient himself, but right as he did so Taehyung began to fall again. The only difference was that this time Jeongguk caught him mid-fall.

“You’re not fine, Tae,” Jeongguk stated.

Their faces were now agonizingly close in proximity, and, after realizing their closeness, Jeongguk tried swallowing the lump that was building up in his throat. Jeongguk was still holding Taehyung, an arm supporting Taehyung from the back and one hand snaking around his hip to support the front, with face seemingly blank of emotion.

The younger boy watched as Taehyung’s head slumped back, eyes fluttering between open and closed, his lips parted like he wanted to say something but just couldn’t.

Taehyung’s grabbed onto the material of Jeongguk shirt, clutching it between his fingers. His eyes shot open, looking straight at Jeongguk and giving him a pained look.

“Please, take me home?” He asked weakly.

“Yeah, of course.”

Jeongguk helped Taehyung as they stumbled away from the party, making it down the driveway. As they were walking, Taehyung lost balance and fell again with a yelp.

“Oh my gosh-, Tae! I’m so sorry,” Jeongguk frantically said, as he helped Taehyung up again.

There was no way Taehyung would make it back to the dorms like this, Jeongguk knew that. His breaths were shaky and weak, his skin starting to form a layer of sweat despite his shivers.

“Here, get on my back,” Jeongguk said, partially squatting down, “I’ll support you.”

At first, Taehyung was hesitant, but then decided to get onto Jeongguk’s back, feeling shitty enough to let himself be carried. 

Letting out a _‘hmmf’_ , Jeongguk slowly stood upright again. Taehyung’s arms were snaked around Jeongguk’s neck, while his long legs wrapped themselves around Jeongguk’s waist.

The spectacle earned quite a few glances from onlookers as they passed.

 _Fuck, he’s heavier than I expected,_ Jeongguk thought.

The walk back to the dormitory was hell. Jeongguk muscles and joints ached for relief, his feet were beginning to blister, his knees felt like they could give in any minute, but he carried on.

They were almost back to the dorms when Jeongguk heard Taehyung snoring against his ear, startling him.

“He fell asleep,” Jeongguk said to no one in particular, “what a cute fucking _goofball_.”

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of intensive labour, they arrived at the entrance of the dormitories. Jeongguk felt relieved knowing his back would finally get a break. Only then did he realize that he had no idea where in the dormitory Taehyung lived, and he didn’t have the heart to wake him up to ask.

It must’ve been very late at night, as it was dead silent on campus and the security was down to a skeleton crew, which made it easier for Jeongguk to sneak back in with an unconscious Taehyung piled on his back.

The dorm was oddly quiet for once, meaning Hoseok had not gotten back yet. It was also pitch black inside, Jeongguk instinctively reached for the light switch, flipping it on. The sudden assault of light caused Taehyung to begin stirring awake.

“Hmmm? Where are we?” Taehyung asked sleepily, “Guk?”

Jeongguk’s throat tightened at the sound of Taehyung’s nickname for him.

“We’re in my dorm,” he reassured with his head turned towards Taehyung so he could read his lips, “I’m gonna let you down now.”

Carefully, Jeongguk helped Taehyung slide off his back, making sure to support him the whole time.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

With his help, Taehyung made it to Jeongguk’s bed. Taehyung sprawled out stiffly, Jeongguk removing his shoes for him and placing them by the door.

“Fuck, okay,” Jeongguk sighed, finally taking a step back once Taehyung was all tucked in. He was still grunting and wincing in discomfort, but at least he was off his feet.

As Jeongguk was turning to make some tea, a hand grabbed his wrist weakly.

“Don’t leave,” Taehyung muttered, voice slightly whiny and timid. “Please.”

“Tae, I was gonna-”

“Guk, _please_ ,” Taehyung pleaded, and Jeongguk felt his throat swell up. Wordlessly, he laid down, bundling Taehyung in his arms tightly and placing a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

“I’m not going anywhere, okay?” he promised, watching Taehyung’s eyes flutter shut. After he was sure that Taehyung was asleep, he placed his lips on Taehyung’s forehead, feeling the burning temperature of his skin. Worriedly, he pried himself out of Taehyung’s grasp to feel his skin properly, biting his lip as he noticed Taehyung’s shirt, drenched in sweat. Honestly, it was just gross, so Jeongguk shuffled around in his drawer until he came across an old iron man shirt that would fit well enough.

As he looked down at sleeping Taehyung, he felt himself realize what he was about to do.

“I’m not a creep,” Jeongguk told himself, starting to gently inch Taehyung’s shirt off his body. “I’m doing this for Taehyung, because he’s sick, and he smells bad. Yes. Not creepy. It’s a… a crisis. Yes.”

The shirt was bunched up at Taehyung’s armpits, revealing his soft tummy, rising and falling with each strained breath. Clenching his jaw, Jeongguk tried his best not to look, focusing on only Taehyung’s face, checking for signs of him waking.

“Now is _not_ the time to be popping boners, Jeongguk,” he spoke to himself as he managed to get the shirt over Taehyung’s head. Taehyung let out a tiny noise in protest, a small grunt that had Jeongguk’s mind wandering even more before he shut the thought down as quick as it came.

Only then did Jeongguk find out how hard it was to put a shirt on an unconscious person while you were trying not to look at them.

In the midst of thing, Taehyung almost woke up a few times, his eyes moving behind his eyelids as he was disturbed. Jeongguk would freeze and hold his breath, not wanting Taehyung to wake up half naked.

Finally, when Taehyung was covered and Jeongguk was gasping for breath, he let himself lay down again, snuggling back into Taehyung and falling asleep.

By the time Jeongguk had woken up, it was light outside. He went to stretch his arms when he noticed he couldn’t particularly do so, as one of his arms had been pinned underneath a sleeping Taehyung, while the other had somehow managed it’s way up the front of Taehyung’s shirt.

Jeongguk gasped inwardly, quickly retracting his hand from underneath the shirt, missing the warmth and softness of Taehyung’s skin immediately.

 _What the fuck, how does that even happen,_ he thought to himself, stretching his numb fingers. His other arm remained under Taehyung, the boy clinging to it as he slept, mouth slightly ajar. Jeongguk smiled to himself as he watched Taehyung, the flutter of his eyelashes as he dreamt, the way his messy hair fell over his forehead, the tiny moles gracing his face. Even his eyebrows were perfect and Jeongguk wanted to kick himself for being so creepy, but Taehyung was just so simply angelic and ethereal that he let himself stare for another minute, relishing in the soft puffs of air being let out against his arm.

Eventually he made himself get up, shuffling his arm out and using his free hand to place Taehyung’s head on the pillow softly. Taehyung whined in protest and then slipped back into a tranquil sleep. Jeongguk let out a heavy breath of relief before sudden realization hit him.

 _I have a man in my bed. My_ crush _is in my bed… wearing_ my _clothes… holy shit._ He was startled out of his own thoughts by his stomach growling violently.

After making his way to the near-empty kitchen, he found himself biting his lip, trying to figure out what _in the fuck_ to make.

“Shit,” he yelped after dropping the only ingredient he had, an almost-expired carton of milk. Its contents now coated the floor and were unusable. “Shit, shit, shit.”

After cleaning up the floor with the last of the paper towel, Jeongguk gave up, “Fuck it, I’m calling Jin.”

Jeongguk pulled out his phone, quickly tapping the screen and dialling Jin.

The phone only rang for a long time before it was picked up, “Jin, it’s Jeongguk.” A gruff voice answered the phone, the sound of shuffling coming from the other side of the call.

“Hand me the phone -,” More shuffling could be heard over the line, “... Hey, Jeongguk!” A cheery Jin greeted.

“Uh, hey… Was that Namjoon? Is right now a bad time?” Jeongguk asked hesitantly.

“No, no, it’s fine. He just woke up, so he’s in a bit of a mood,” The older boy reassured, “-so what’s up?”

“Uhm, what can I make out of…” he paused for a moment, taking a second look around the kitchen for any scraps of food, “- 6 olives, the toy at the bottom of a cereal box, chicken broth and one of those plate thingies with turkey sandwiches on it, but all turkey has been taken off and eaten-”

“So, basically bread.”

“Well, it’s kind of like, turkey flavoured bread, I guess,” Jeongguk argued. Jin audibly smacked his head on something.

“Why are you suddenly deciding to make food? Don’t you live on like, ramen and microwavable rice dishes?” Jin sighed.

“Yes, but I- what if I’m just trying to eat healthier, huh?” Jeongguk huffed. “To, like, get fit.”

“You have someone over,” Jin said, as if he was actually in the room with him.

“No? I mean, what the fuck, I-”

“Ooh, who is it? Is it Taehyung? I hope it’s Taehyung, I’ve literally been looking at wedding venues-”

“Please-”

“Tell me right now that Taehyung isn’t at your place.”

“...”

“Oh my God, there’s going to be a wedding! I was thinking spring, because-”

“Okay, listen. No, don’t cut me off again, shh. So, he’s sick, I need to make him something, like, edible. What do I do?” Jeongguk asked, somewhat amazed by the fact that he got a whole sentence in. Jin hummed for a moment.

“Do you have pasta of some sort?”

“What the fuck can I do with pasta for breakfast?”

“You ungrateful child, I’m trying to help you here,” Jin spat. Jeongguk let out an exaggerated sigh, shuffling through the pantries.

“There’s these egg noodle things that Hoseok bought by accident, will those work?” Jeongguk asked. Jin makes an enthusiastic noise.

“Yes! Perfect, okay, now listen to my instructions very carefully!”

With the guidance of Jin, Jeongguk scarcely managed to whip up something using the limited amount of supplies found in the dorm. In all honesty, he was very proud of himself and his cooking abilities, being as this was the first time he had ever used the stove to do more than just boiling water for his ramen. Now all Jeongguk had to do was wait for it to simmer and for the noodles to soften.

“Yeah, man. I’m the Korean _Chef boy yard dean_!” he beamed confidently in his broken English.

“It’s _Chef Boyardee_ , you idiot. No, wonder you didn’t pass English,” Jin inputted, still talking on the phone with Jeongguk, and after that quickly finishing up the call.

Jeongguk stared proudly at his simmering soup, hands on his hips.

 _Taehyung’s gonna eat this and love it,_ he thought smugly.

He then realized that he had to actually wake Taehyung up.

Silently, he crept back into his room where Taehyung slept. There he found Taehyung, still peacefully passed out after a night of drunken illness. Jeongguk took a step back and admired Taehyung in his sleeping state for a minute, drinking in all of his beauty for the second time today.

 _Fuck, why am I like this? Stop being a creep and just wake him up_ , Jeongguk thought, when he caught himself creepily ogling at Taehyung.

“Tae?” Jeongguk called softly before, once again, remembering that Taehyung was _fucking_ deaf.

Jeongguk kneeled by the bed, resisting the urge to not wake Taehyung up and just stare instead. The passed out boy breathed evenly and calmly, light snores emitting from him cutely. Timidly, he placed a hand on Taehyung’s head, stroking his hair gently. Taehyung nuzzled into the touch, still not quite waking up. Jeongguk ran his hand down Taehyung’s head, over the slope of his cheekbones and down to his shoulder, shaking it slightly.

“Hmm,”Groaned the sleeping figure, opening and closing his mouth before stretching out like a cat. Jeongguk narrowly avoided being punched in the face.

Slowly, Taehyung peeked an eye open. He smiled lazily, half-lidded eyes staring at Jeongguk, the same eyes that Jeongguk had fallen for all that time ago.

“Mornin’,” he slurred. Jeongguk laughed, his chest tight.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. Taehyung frowned, his lip jutting out in a pout.

“M’ head hurts,” he groaned, bringing a hand up to rub at his eye.

“I’ll go and get you something,” Jeongguk stated, standing up and dashing to the bathroom in search of medicine, before quickly making his way back to his room.

Taehyung was now half slouched upwards on Jeongguk bed, the covers still on top of him.

‘“Here,” the younger boy mumbled as he handed Taehyung one of the pills from a bottle of Advil.

Taehyung swallowed the pill dry, and sighed, “I’m sorry…”

“What? Sorry about what?”

“About last night. I’m sorry you had to deal with that, it happens from time to time and it’s really embarrassing.” Taehyung explained, his ears turning red.

Jeongguk was confused at first, before reassuring Taehyung, “It’s cool, don’t worry about it. If you don’t mind me asking, uh, what exactly happens?” he asked.

“I just kinda get sick super easy. I’ve always had a really low immune system, I spent most of my childhood in and out of hospitals, it’s not a big deal, I’m used to it, it just happens more when I’m, like, anxious or stressed,” Taehyung told him. There was a lapse of silence, Jeongguk processing the information and Taehyung realizing what he admitted.

Eventually, Taehyung broke the silence.

“Uh, can I use your shower quickly?” he asked timidly. Jeongguk blushed, nodding his head.

“Y-Yeah, sure! Uh, the towels are in the bathroom and I can get you some clean clothes-” Jeongguk started, only to be interrupted by Taehyung.

“Hey, wait, how did I get into these clothes? Where’d my clothes go?” Taehyung questioned. Jeongguk froze.

“Shit, uh, you- you were like, sweaty and shit, so I, I mean I had to give you clean clothes and, so, but I didn’t see anything! I swear, it- I didn’t- I am a child of God, I would never, like, sin, I-” Jeongguk stammered. Taehyung was giggling at him, hiding his mouth behind his hand.

“Cute,” he chuckled. Jeongguk blushed even more red, turning away so Taehyung couldn’t see his face. He turned back around when he heard Taehyung trying to stand. He was wobbling slightly, a hand braced on the end table for balance.

“I’m fine,” Taehyung said before Jeongguk could ask. “I’m okay.” Jeongguk kept a wary eye on Taehyung as he made his way to the bathroom.

“Do you need help?” Jeongguk called after him, still slightly concerned. Taehyung laughed, turning around to raise an eyebrow.

“Wanna carry me?” he teased. Jeongguk grinned back.

“Sure,” he deadpanned. Taehyung was caught off guard, mouth opening and closing again before stretching into a rectangular smile.

“You’re catching on!” Taehyung laughed, proud of Jeongguk’s growing sense of humour. He patted Jeongguk on the head (quite degradingly, he might add) and made his way to the bathroom.

Jeongguk let out a whooshing breath, a hand on his chest like an old man about to have a heart attack.

“Fuck, oh my god,” Jeongguk wheezed. He then remembered that he was supposed to be getting food ready and scrambled back to the kitchen.

He was nearly done preparing the food (in actual nice dishes that he didn’t know he owned) when Hoseok decided to literally kick the fucking door in.

“Could you chill? If you keep busting down doors I’m never going to get the safety deposit back,” Jeongguk screeched at him. Hoseok was frozen in the door, eyes wide.

“Jeon Jeongguk, are you… _cooking_?” he asked, gaping. Jeongguk narrowed his eyes with hostility.

“Yes, now you can leave,” he said. Hoseok then heard the water running and gasped, running over to place his hands on Jeongguk’s shoulders.

“Fuck, my son, did you _get_ the D?” Hoseok asked. After thinking about it for a second, he rephrased the question. “Did you _give_ the D?”

“No, you’re disgusting, leave me alone,” Jeongguk snapped back. Hoseok plopped down at the table, putting his face in his hands and grinning.

“Well, can you include some food for me as well as your hookup? I’m hungry too,” Hoseok whined. Jeongguk glared. Hoseok kept grinning back.

It was then that Taehyung decided to emerge from the bathroom. Taehyung shuffling out timidly. Jeongguk felt his heart literally try to kill itself in his chest at the sight of Taehyung, in _his_ clothes, with _sweater paws._ The shirt was big on Jeongguk, so seeing it on Tae was just so adorable. It reached slightly past mid-thigh and was so pretty that Jeongguk was literally gaping like a fish. He cleared his throat loudly, gesturing widely to the table.

“Hey Tae, Hoseok’s here,” Jeongguk said casually. Hoseok jumped up.

“Ah,” he yelled, making Tae’s eyes widen. “Oh my god, you guys fucked. Holy shit. My children.”

“H-Hoseok, I can’t keep up with-” Taehyung stammered, eyes flickering between Hoseok and Jeongguk in a panic.

“Oh my God, this is great, I’m calling Jin, I’m going to arrange a marriage,” Hoseok was rambling on. “What kind of flowers would look good with you guys? Oh my god.”

“No, no, no, no! Nein, niet, nuh-uh!” Jeongguk yelled at his roommate who was going off, “There will be no wedding- I mean, I don’t know, maybe, but- I mean, fuck, Hoseok, I literally hate you.”

“Wait, what’s happening-” Taehyung started, only to be cut off again by Jeongguk who was trying to quickly change the subject.

“Anyways, food’s ready,” Jeongguk sighed, lowkey slamming the bowls down on the table. While Taehyung was walking past, Jeongguk leaned into Hoseok.

“Listen you little shit,” he said quietly, even though Taehyung couldn’t hear, “you better not fuck this up for me or I will cut your dick off. Don’t test me.”

“Somebody’s tired and grumpy,” Hoseok whined.

“This somebody has a razor, so I suggest you watch it. Unless y’know, you want your dick to look like Freddie Krueger’s scratch post…” The younger boy threatened, a menacing smile plastering his face.

Inwardly wincing, Hoseok flinched away from Jeongguk. Taehyung hadn’t even noticed the squabble as he had already begun consuming the soup Jeongguk had made for him. Peering out the corner of his eye, Jeongguk watched attentively as Taehyung ate the soup.

Taehyung had finished his meal quickly, drinking the last of the soup from the bowl before releasing a satisfied burp. Both Hoseok and Jeongguk watched the boy in shock.

“No way, no _fucking way,_ did you make something edible,” Hoseok doubtfully stated, sounding like a question within itself, “He doesn’t look sick and he’s still breathing… that’s a good sign.”

Jeongguk opened his mouth, slack-jawed at Hoseok’s comment.

“Oh come on! You haven’t even tried it yet!” he exclaimed.

Hoseok hesitantly brought the bowl of soup up to his lips and tipping its contents into his mouth. He immediately let out a gagging noise before swallowing roughly.

“Holy fuck, that was the saltiest thing I’ve ever tasted. Did you leave some salt for the fishes when you were making that?” Hoseok screeched as he quickly got up and rinsed his mouth out with water. He made eye contact with Taehyung, “Dude, how the fuck did you eat that shit?”

Taehyung shrugged in response.

“Oh c’mon, it can’t be _that_ bad…” Jeongguk said nervously.

“Oh really? Why don’t you try it then? Hmm?”

Quite aggressively, Jeongguk took the bowl and began slurping down the soup, immediately regretting it. Hoseok cracked up laughing at the funny sight of Jeongguk trying to swallow the food without puking.

“ _Bleh_ , oh god, oh god! What in the actual fuck?” Jeongguk vociferated, “I don’t even remember adding salt…”

“All in favour of Jeongguk never preparing a meal again raise your hand,” Hoseok announced, raising his hand as Taehyung also shyly lifted up his hand. At that, Jeongguk felt his confidence diminish drastically.

“I just wanted to make you food…” Jeongguk sighed, making Taehyung get up quickly to pat his head.

“No, no, it’s okay!” Taehyung reassured. “I really appreciate you trying!” While Taehyung was laughing and muttering with Jeongguk, Hoseok dumped the rest of the horrendous dish out in the sink.

“You’re lucky he’s fucking whipped, Jeongguk,” Hoseok teased, making Jeongguk’s face redden. Taehyung frowned, tilting his head curiously and looking back at Hoseok.

“What? What did he say?” Taehyung asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Nothing! He just said that he was _getting the fuck out_ now,” Jeongguk said quickly. Hoseok held up his hands in surrender, making his way towards the door.

“Have fun, kids,” he sang as he made his way out, snatching his wallet- that he must have forgotten earlier that day- off of the shoe rack.

“Don’t come back!” Jeongguk yelled after him.

“I fucking live here! I pay half of the rent, you disrespectful-”

“Bye, Hobi!” Taehyung waved. Jeongguk snorted.

“Yeah, bye, take your time at Yoongi’s,” Jeongguk laughed. Hoseok sent him the finger before the door swung shut and he and Taehyung were alone again.

“So… Overwatch?” Jeongguk offered. Taehyung frowned.

“Who?”

Jeongguk gasped, a hand flying up to rest over his heart. “Excuse you? Overwatch, Taehyung. The best game ever made.”

“Besides Mario Kart, you mean,” Taehyung argued. Jeongguk raised his eyebrows.

“Not what I meant, but your opinion is valid,” he chose to say. The two of them had a stare-off before Taehyung burst into giggles.

“Fine, fine, let’s play this game,” he sighed. Jeongguk did a tiny victory jump, dragging Taehyung into the living room and grabbing his and Hoseok’s laptops. They were set up in no time, Taehyung using Hoseok’s account and Jeongguk using his own.

“So, you have to- no, Tae, don’t- yeah, like that, there you go,” Jeongguk instructed, showing Taehyung the basics of the game. Taehyung caught on quite quickly, even managing to beat Jeongguk one round.

“Holy shit, I’m fucking great at this,” Taehyung boasted excitedly. Jeongguk laughed.

“Yeah, right. That round was luck,” Jeongguk teased. Taehyung, who was having a hard time catching Jeongguk’s comments while also focusing on the game, set down his laptop and turned fully towards Jeongguk, lips raised in a smirk.

“How about we make this more interesting, hmm?” he asked. Jeongguk bit his lip to hide his own smile.

“Yeah? What did you have in mind?” Jeongguk prompted.

“The winner gets to make the loser do anything,” Taehyung decided, pausing for a second before adding, “to an extent.”

“What are the rules to this deal?” Jeongguk wondered, a plan forming in the back of his mind. He didn’t listen as Tae listed things that absolutely weren’t allowed; he was too busy admiring the boy, how soft he looked with his tousled, drying hair and bare face.

“Got it?” Taehyung said. Jeongguk nodded absentmindedly. “I’m gonna _crush_ you.”

“Yeah, sure you are,” Jeongguk laughed. Throughout the match, the two of them unconsciously slipped closer and closer on the couch until their thighs were pressed together, the edges of the laptops bumping gently every time Taehyung jumped in excitement. A few times, Jeongguk would catch Taehyung glancing at his screen, but he couldn’t really scold him for it since Taehyung’s eyes were glued to his own screen, unable to see Jeongguk’s lips.

In the end, Jeongguk won, of course. Taehyung let out a cry of despair, placing the laptop on the table and throwing his arms in the air.

Out of desperation, Taehyung turned to Jeongguk, “All or nothing?” he asked with false optimism. Jeongguk shook his head no in response, Taehyung began to go and carry on about how Overwatch was an ableist game and that’s why he lost, not because of his lack of skill.

“Oh c’mon, I won fair and square, now pay up…” Jeongguk teased.

“Okay, okay… _so_ what do you want me to do?” he asked whilst Jeongguk sat there stupefied.

“Uh,” he muttered, trying to think of something.

Taehyung sat there patiently, awaiting Jeongguk’s response. Jeongguk was stunned, unable to think of anything, and decided that he’d instead take this time to appreciate the stunning boy sitting in front of him, with glowing eyes and cute nose moles and fluttering eyelashes. Jeongguk found himself staring often; there was just something about Taehyung that was so enticing to Jeongguk that had him being drawn closer towards him. It was in that moment Jeongguk realized, both of them sitting together on a couch in his dorm, with Taehyung wearing his clothes and still-wet hair, that Jeongguk’s little crush had morphed into something much larger.

“Kiss me,” Jeongguk blurted. Taehyung’s mouth fell open, eyes widening almost comically. Jeongguk wanted to shrink away, to laugh it off as if it was a joke, but instead, he set his jaw and leaned forwards.

“W-What-”

“I want you to kiss me,” Jeongguk repeated firmly. Taehyung blinked a few times and the shock on his face slowly melted away into a mischievous grin.

He leaned in, eyes closed and lips pursed. Jeongguk watched as the space between the two of them lessened before closing the rest of the gap himself. It was perfect. Jeongguk found himself amazed by how kissing Tae for the third time felt like the first all over again, amazed at how this boy affected his emotions and thoughts. It was gentle kiss, sweet but passionate, as the kiss progressed into something more Jeongguk broke away.

“Wait-” he breathed, “what about your boyfriend?”

Taehyung was puzzled, “What? I don’t have a boyfriend.” He tried to lean in again but Jeongguk stopped him.

“T-then who were you with at the party last night?” he questioned.

Letting out a shaky laugh, Taehyung spoke, “You mean Jimin? Oh my god, Guk, he’s a friend from high school, and not to mention _straight as a ruler._ ”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, _oh_ , dipshit...and I hardly think I would’ve let some guy take me to their house if I had a boyfriend,” Taehyung teased the younger boy, making him turn the colour of wine.

“You were sick! I was just-, just. You know. I. Fuck off,” Jeongguk groaned when Taehyung started to laugh at him. Jeongguk decided to shut him up by pressing their lips together again, effectively muffling Taehyung’s giggles.

A soft _oh_ escaped from Taehyung’s lips before Jeongguk released him from the kiss.

“So… one more thing I want you to do,” Jeongguk started. Taehyung automatically narrowed his eyes.

“You got your goddamn wish already, boy, don’t-” Taehyung began, but Jeongguk slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Let me be suave, Tae,” he sighed. “I was going to say, I want you to be my boyfriend.” Taehyung licked Jeongguk’s hand, making the younger snatch it away with a grossed out face. Jeongguk wiped his hand on his pants, biting his lip and silently thanking the gods for an excuse to also remove the sweat from his palms.

Taehyung didn’t respond for a while, just sat there with a blank expression, which worried Jeongguk to no end. After a bit, Jeongguk couldn’t handle the waiting. He’d gotten Taehyung’s message.

“Ah, fuck. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked-” Jeongguk began to apologize.

“Say it again.”

The sudden demand stunned Jeongguk, “S-say what again?” he stuttered, “That I want you to be my boyfriend?”

“God,” Taehyung sighed, “I wish I could hear you saying that.” Jeongguk felt his heart tug at the tone of Taehyung’s voice. Cupping Taehyung’s face gently, Jeongguk kissed him once more, just lightly, before pulling back and smiling.

“You don’t need to hear me say it, yeah? Just know that I really, _really_ want you to say yes,” Jeongguk pleaded. Taehyung’s boxy grin started to return.

“Of course, Guk, yes,” Taehyung laughed. Jeongguk kissed him again, unable to resist, despite the fact that he was allowed to kiss Taehyung all the time now. The thought made him giddy, staring at the boy nearly on his lap, game completely forgotten.

The sudden slamming of the door ( _again_ , for fucks sake) makes Jeongguk jump slightly. Tae didn’t seem to notice, still kissing Jeongguk, and it was so nice that Jeongguk decided to ignore it. He prayed silently that Hoseok would just not come into the living room, that for once he would leave Jeongguk alone.

“Oi, you two, that’s my couch you’re humping on!”

“Fuck _off_!”


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Attempted rape/sexual assault and super minor character death.  
> we were too impatient to post the second part tomorrow so enjoy the angst kids

“Ugh, I hate you,” Taehyung grumbled, holding his phone up to stare at his hair on the screen. Jeongguk tried to suppress his smile.

“No you don’t,” he retorted, his hand reassuring squeezing Taehyung’s thigh in the back of their taxi.

“This looks horrible, I can’t believe I’m meeting some of your friends for the first time looking like this,” Taehyung whined. “They’re going to make fun of you for having an ugly boyfriend.”

“Tae,” Jeongguk interrupted, sending him a small glare. He took in the way Taehyung looked, his new red hair making his honeyed skin glow, collarbones peeking through his low-cut shirt. The hair had been an accident; it was supposed to end up a subtle auburn colour, but instead came out as a fiery red. Jeongguk had made the mistake of telling Taehyung that it was fire hydrant red and now the older boy was insecure, but they didn’t have time to dye it back before their dinner reservations. 

“What,” Taehyung grumbled, clicking his phone shut and fully looking at Jeongguk.

“You look beautiful,” Jeongguk said earnestly. Taehyung pouted, though Jeongguk could see the insecurity in his eyes fade.

“You’re just saying that because you feel bad,” Taehyung argued. Jeongguk squeezed his knee, erasing all hints of laughter from his face.

“Taehyung, you could have  _ no  _ hair and I would still be just as amazed by your beauty,” Jeongguk deadpanned. Taehyung’s cheeks lit up, nearly the same colour as his hair.

“Oh my God, Jeongguk, you can’t just- oh my God,” Taehyung scolded, the laughter in his voice making Jeongguk grin. 

They’d been dating for 100 days now, falling easily into a relationship. None of their friends were surprised and their dynamics hardly changed; they worked well together and both of them were still drunk in love. 

It had been Hoseok’s idea to go out and celebrate their 100th day, renting out a party room at a restaurant and inviting a bunch of friends. Neither of them really wanted to spend their day getting hammered, but they each vowed that they would go easy on the drinks in order to remember the night in the morning. 

“Honestly though, it really doesn’t look bad. I just made fun of it because it took me off guard,” Jeongguk tried explaining, rubbing comforting, apologetic circles on Taehyung’s knee with his thumb. Taehyung smiled softly at him in a way that let Jeongguk know he was forgiven. 

After they arrived at the restaurant, they exited the taxi once they had paid.

Hand-in-hand, the couple walked into the restaurant, both of them radiating happiness. Hoseok was the first to notice them, running up and nearly tackling Taehyung in a hug.

“TaeTae!” he sang before getting off Taehyung and leeching onto Jeongguk instead. “Jeonggukie!”

“Jesus, Hoseok, are you drunk  _ already _ ?” Jeongguk scolded. Hoseok held up a finger.

“I,” he declared, “am  _ tipsy _ , you asshole.” Taehyung pulled away from Jeongguk suddenly, running over to where Jimin was standing. 

“Chim!” he was calling, making Jeongguk smile. 

“You guys are fucking nasty,” Yoongi gagged, appearing behind them. After Taehyung and Jeongguk got together, Hoseok had revealed that Yoongi was friends with Taehyung and Jimin, which was how they all knew each other. Taehyung had met Seokjin briefly and was going to meet Namjoon, Jin’s boyfriend, that night.

“What are they saying?” Jeongguk asked, gesturing to where Jimin and Taehyung were making motions with their hands quickly. Yoongi glanced over, watching for a minute before laughing. 

“You told him he looked like a _ fire hydrant _ ?” Yoongi snorted. Jeongguk rolled his eyes.

“Jeongguk!” Jin’s voice called suddenly, making all three of them wince. 

“Bet you real money that he’s gonna get mad at Hoseok for being smashed,” Yoongi muttered. Jeongguk gave him a look. 

“I’d rather not lose money,” Jeongguk sighed. 

“Jung Hoseok, are you drunk already? Jeez, it’s like you need to be kept on a  _ leash- _ ” Jin started ranting, causing both Jeongguk and Yoongi to laugh. 

“I’m gonna go get Tae,” Jeongguk interrupted, squeezing past people and heading towards his boyfriend. When he caught sight of Taehyung again, he also saw an older man, maybe around 35, staring at him in a way that made Jeongguk’s skin crawl. Protectively, he wrapped an arm around Taehyung’s waist once he was close enough, making him jump in surprise. 

“Holy shit, babe, you can’t just sneak up on a deaf person like that-” Taehyung laughed before catching sight of Jeongguk’s serious face. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” Jeongguk said after noticing the man look away. “Just came to get you. Jin and Joonie are here.” 

“Oh! Okay. One sec, I’ll tell Jimin,” Taehyung grinned, signing to his friend. Taehyung had explained a while ago about how Jimin was non-verbal, born without hearing and therefore not confident in speaking verbally. He and Taehyung had kicked it off in school, and have been inseparable since. When Taehyung was done he nodded at Jeongguk and the three of them went to find their friends.

“You must be Taehyung,” Namjoon said as they approached. Taehyung smiled his box smile, sticking out a hand for Namjoon to shake.

“Yes! Nice to meet you,” he greeted kindly. Namjoon was obviously pleased by his manners. 

“Jeongguk, you didn’t tell me he was pretty  _ and  _ polite,” Namjoon teased, all three of them laughing. Jin interrupted by smacking Namjoon’s arm.

“Oi, stop that, you’re so embarrassing,” Jin huffed, though he didn’t sound embarrassed. After a while of everybody mingling, the waitress finally came around, ready to take the large group. The seven of them settled into their table and started scouring the menu. 

“Guk, do you wanna share something? I’m not that hungry and it’ll be cheaper this way,” Taehyung muttered to him. Jeongguk smiled and nodded.

“Whatever you want to get,” Jeongguk agreed. “You know what I don’t like.” Taehyung pressed a quick kiss to his lips, making everyone at the table groan in protest. Taehyung didn’t even notice with his eyes on the menu. 

“We can’t even groan at him for being disgusting, he can’t hear it,” Yoongi sighed, his eyes still scrolling through the menu. 

Throughout their meal, Jeongguk kept his hand on Taehyung in some way, either wrapped around his shoulders, holding his hand or anchored on his waist. Every time he glanced over, the same man’s eyes were still on them, and it made Jeongguk’s whole body tense. Taehyung and the others were oblivious, too busy chatting and enjoying themselves. Taehyung seemed to notice Jeongguk’s odd behaviour, sending concerned glances towards him every so often. 

“You okay?” Taehyung whispered, voice low enough that only Jeongguk could hear. Jeongguk didn’t respond, prompting a frown from Taehyung. 

“I’ve gotta pee guys, I’ll be right back,” Taehyung announced, sliding out of his chair. Jeongguk didn’t look at him, chewing the inside of his cheek. 

Impulsively, he glanced over to where the man had been sitting. 

The seat was empty, a few crumpled bills thrown on the table.

Jeongguk tried to suppress the bad feeling that was rising in his gut. It had to be a coincidence, Jeongguk reasoned. He was being overprotective and weird. Taehyung was capable of going to the bathroom, the man probably just left. 

After a few more seconds, Jeongguk decided that it would be safest to check.

“Guys, I’m gonna go pee as well,” Jeongguk said. Hoseok wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Gonna have a quickie?” he teased. Jeongguk flipped him off as he walked away, listening to everyone’s laughs. 

As he neared the washroom, his heartbeat quickened. He knew he was being irrational. He knew he was probably wrong. 

But he just had to check. 

“Tae?” he called out quietly, nearing the door but stopping when he heard what must have been the man’s voice. 

“Why are you ignoring me, babyboy?” he was saying, making Jeongguk’s blood freeze. There were a few more seconds of silence where Jeongguk thought that maybe he could be wrong, that Taehyung wasn’t actually in this washroom.

Then he heard Taehyung yelp.

Jeongguk didn’t waste any time, wiggling the door handle only to realize that it was locked. 

“Taehyung?! Taehyung!” Jeongguk yelled, slamming his shoulder into the door. 

“H-Hel-” Taehyung’s panicked voice screamed, the noise being muffled. Jeongguk stepped back and kicked at the door hard enough that it shook, yet it still didn’t budge.

“Fuck! Get away from him!” Jeongguk growled, kicking the door again and again. He could hear Taehyung’s muffled cries, making Jeongguk’s blood start to boil. 

“What the fuck, Jeongguk,” Yoongi snapped, appearing beside Jeongguk.

“Tae’s in there, someone- please, just-” Jeongguk stammered, kicking at the door again. Yoongi got the hint, counting down from three before kicking the door alongside Jeongguk. Their combined force splintered the door and it came crashing in, Jeongguk stumbling into the bathroom first. 

The man was looming over Taehyung, pressing him against the wall from behind so that he couldn’t escape. His hands had pushed Taehyung’s shirt halfway up his chest, currently working on undoing his belt. Taehyung was crying, still struggling to get away, body too much smaller and not strong enough. 

“F-Fuck-” the man gasped out when he realized that people had broken in. He let Taehyung go quickly, the smaller boy’s knees giving out. 

Jeongguk rushed forward, a fist coming up to punch the man straight in the nose. He felt his knuckles aching but chose to ignore it, grabbing a fistful of the man’s greasy hair and smashing his face into the mirror. It made a satisfying crunching noise, nose obviously broken and leaving an imprint of blood in the cracks made from the impact. The man staggered back, hands holding his bloodied face. Jeongguk went to hit him again but arms restricted him, pulling him away.

“Fucking let me go,” Jeongguk snapped, struggling, but Yoongi just yanked him harder. 

“He’s fucking down, Jeongguk, cool it. Go to Taehyung. He needs you,” Yoongi demanded, voice cool and collected despite the situation. Jeongguk stopped struggling and looked over to where his boyfriend sat. He was shaking, eyes wide and mouth agape, silent tears still spilling from his eyes. Jeongguk’s anger died down, concern bubbling up and taking over.

“Tae,” Jeongguk muttered brokenly, wobbling over and sitting in front of him. “Are you- Did he-”

“Guk,” Taehyung whined, a wet hiccup escaping his throat. Jeongguk swallowed dryly, leaning forward to hold Taehyung as he cried, doing as much as he could to comfort the hysterical boy. 

“I-I didn’t h-hear him, he was j-just here and I d-didn’t notice, I-I’m sorry, I-” Taehyung rambled into Jeongguk’s neck. Jeongguk just kept smoothing his hands over his boyfriend, reassuring them both that he was safe. 

“You… He could have…” Jeongguk choked out, hiding his own tears in Taehyung’s hair. The two of them were interrupted by staff finally entering the bathroom. 

“What happened?” One of them, presumably the manager, gasped. Yoongi started to explain for them as Jeongguk calmed himself and Taehyung down. 

Taehyung didn’t fully relax until they were both home in bed, wrapped in Jeongguk’s arms and trying to sleep. Jeongguk felt him swallow nervously.

“What is it, baby?” Jeongguk asked softly, adjusting so that they were looking at each other in the dim lighting.

“I just… I feel like I cheated or something,” Taehyung sniffled. Jeongguk smoothed his hair back, pressing a tender kiss in between his eyebrows. 

“You don’t need to feel like that, Tae. Nothing that happened was your fault,” Jeongguk soothed. Taehyung brought one of Jeongguk’s bandaged knuckles to his lips and kissed it gently.

“But you got hurt,” he protested weakly. Jeongguk smiled, leaning forward to poke his nose against Taehyung’s.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re safe,” Jeongguk said. Taehyung closed his eyes, body visibly relaxing. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. Jeongguk ran a thumb under his cheekbone. 

“Sleep now, okay? I’m here,” Jeongguk reassured. Taehyung snuggled back into Jeongguk’s chest and the two of them drifted to sleep. 

Since the incident, Jeongguk had begun to take notice of just how much Taehyung being deaf actually affected his life, how often he was put in dangerous situations and how much it hurt to have to stand by and watch. 

When they went out for ice cream, Taehyung had run into the store since he insisted he knew the perfect flavour for Jeongguk, who had been sentenced to wait with Yoongi and the car. When he was returning, a man on a motorcycle was trying to back out of his parking space just as Taehyung was walking by. Taehyung, not hearing the biker, had kept walking. The man had then started to yell and call Taehyung an idiot, which did not go over well with Jeongguk. But, had Jeongguk or Yoongi not been there, the bike could have hit Taehyung or the man could have tried to pick a fight. 

These types of situations happened more and more often, yet Taehyung hardly seemed phased by them. 

Every time Jeongguk would bring it up or ask about it, Taehyung would brush the problem off, reassured Jeongguk that he was used to it. This just contributed to making Jeongguk even more concerned. 

Over the track of a month, the problem didn’t go away but was pushed to the back of Jeongguk’s mind, overpowered by schoolwork and happier things. 

Now that everyone was properly acquainted, they fell into a nice pattern of gathering every Saturday for a game night. Jeongguk personally thought that game night was a horrible idea that ended in yelling and wrestling, but Taehyung was set on keeping the tradition going. 

This particular game night was being hosted at Jeongguk’s dorm, all of them sitting on the floor of the tiny living room area. They had chosen Monopoly for some odd reason; Jeongguk knew that it was just going to end badly but decided to go with it anyway, content on making Taehyung happy. 

Every game night someone would make the _ great _ suggestion of betting money, and this always led to the games becoming overly competitive; Namjoon had once lost a whole week’s worth of his paycheck after making a cheeky bet while playing poker. Between all seven of them, they managed to gather about seventy-five dollars American, some almost expired coupons, and a stick of mint gum. Usually, the boys, being the broke college students they were, wouldn’t risk money like this, but the strong presence of alcohol on game nights made them much more lenient to the idea. 

“You can’t tell me how much I can drink, Jin,” Hoseok whined, trying to snatch the bottle back from Jin, who was wearing his disappointed mom face. 

“There’s no way I’m having a drunk partner,” Jin argued. Hoseok threw his hands in the air.

“It is  _ too late _ , so you might as well just let me keep- hey, no, you guys, no signing, that’s no fair!” Hoseok screeched, pointing towards where Taehyung, Jimin and Yoongi were making plans in secret. Yoongi was the only one who heard, turning to raise an eyebrow at Hoseok.

“That’s not in the rulebook,” Yoongi argued. “Also, you just landed on our property. Pay up.”

“Namjoon what the fuck,” Jeongguk interrupted, making everyone look towards where Namjoon had accidentally scattered all their cards while reaching for his drink. Taehyung giggled.

“Hey, you can’t laugh at me, you…. you  _ betrayer _ ,” Jeongguk sneered. Taehyung mock-gasped.

“I didn’t  _ betray  _ you, love, I just… I chose, uh, wisely? To benefit both of us when I win the money!” Taehyung reasoned. Originally, Jeongguk had, of course, wanted to pair up with Taehyung, only to be shot down by his boyfriend informing him that he  _ ‘just wasn’t the best at this game’ _ and that they’d  _ ‘be on a team next time.’ _

“Oi, Jeongguk, it’s my turn, help me,” Namjoon said, drawing Jeongguk’s attention once more. Jeongguk rolled his dice and ended up on the same space as Namjoon was on. 

“We should buy this one,” Namjoon whispered. Jeongguk wrinkled his nose. 

“We don’t have the money for it! Not happening,” he said. Namjoon glanced over at Jin, who was still hiding the bottle of booze from Hoseok.

“Babe,” Namjoon stage-whispered. Jin looked over, eyebrow raised. “Give me a loan?”

“Are you intending on paying this loan back,” Jin deadpanned. Namjoon leaned closer. 

“I can pay it back in…. other ways,” he offered, overly-sensual. Jin’s jaw dropped.

“You- You can’t- You can’t prostitute yourself in  _ Monopoly _ , Joon!” Jin shrieked as Namjoon creeped his hand up Jin’s thigh. 

“You called our sign language cheating, but you’re not calling out that?” Yoongi muttered to Hoseok, who shrugged. 

“If they get distracted with each other, I can probably steal some cash,” Hoseok declared, rather loudly. Everyone stared at him. 

“Hoseok, how much have you stolen,” Jeongguk demanded. Hoseok shrugged. Jimin signed something urgently to Taehyung. 

“What’s he saying?” Jeongguk asked. Taehyung laughed hard enough that they had to wait a moment for him to catch his breath. 

“He said that Hoseok’s sitting on a pile of cash and also you all _fucking_ _suck_ ,” Taehyung translated. Hoseok pointed accusingly at Jimin.

“Traitor!” Hoseok exclaimed.

“He says that there was never a deal and therefore he didn’t betray you,” Taehyung conveyed, turning to Jeongguk before he could say anything. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Jeongguk smirked, trying to hold in the  _ ‘unlike  _ some  _ people’ _ joke on the tip of his tongue. Taehyung narrowed his eyes and Jeongguk got the message.

“Jimin, I was making the deal through eye contact. Did my stare not captivate you,” Hoseok flirted, wiggling his eyebrows. Yoongi coughed suddenly, awkwardly loud.

“Is it my turn?” he snapped, making Jeongguk chuckle at his jealousy. Yoongi was rolling the dice when a loud vibration rang through the room.

“Oh shit, my parents are skyping me. I’ll be right back, take care of the team Yoongi,” Taehyung interrupted, standing up and shuffling off to Jeongguk’s bedroom. Taehyung skyped with his parents quite often, able to understand each other through sign language. From what Jeongguk had observed, Taehyung’s dad was just like him, booming laughter that could be heard even in the other room. Their calls, though technically silent, were still loud. 

The game went on without Taehyung, none of them particularly worried by his extended absence since he and his parents were very close and messaged frequently. After a while, though, Jeongguk started to feel that something was off. Not in the way he felt at their 100th-anniversary party, but a more subtle type of feeling. 

It wasn’t until about ten minutes later that he pinpointed his unease. 

There was no laughter coming from his bedroom. 

Internally, he debated checking on Taehyung. In the end, he decided against it; he didn’t want to interrupt if it was something personal. 

Twenty minutes passed and Taehyung finally returned. Jeongguk was perched, ready to go to his boyfriend, but then Taehyung smiled.

“Sorry for taking so long, my dad can talk for  _ hours _ ,” he laughed. Jeongguk’s eyebrows furrowed. The sound was forced, so fake and dry that it make Jeongguk nervous. 

“Don’t worry, Jimin and I kept our team stable,” Yoongi smirked. Jeongguk hadn’t noticed, but they’d gone through a considerable amount of alcohol. Him, Taehyung and Jin were probably the only sober ones in the room. Taehyung conjured up another pathetic smile.

“I knew I was on your team for a reason,” he joked weakly. Jeongguk met Jimin’s eyes from across the board and shared a mutual, concerned gaze. Jimin shook Yoongi’s arm and signed something. 

“Ah, ChimChim says that it’s getting late and we’re all too drunk,” Yoongi whined. Hoseok let out a loud groan, pointing at the orange-haired boy.

“No! I am, like, negative zero percent drunk. I’m tipsy at best,” Hoseok slurred, sloshing his drink around. Namjoon nodded enthusiastically. 

“I have never been in a situation where I was less drunk,” Namjoon backed him up. Jin shook his head. 

“Yeah, I think we’re done. Let’s count up the money, who made the most?” Jin said. In the end, Taehyung, Jimin and Yoongi won. 

“Your sign-thingy, you cheated!” Hoseok argued as they split up their winnings between them. Yoongi was trying to slip Hoseok’s jacket on him. 

“Not in the rules,” Yoongi brought up again. Hoseok pouted, clinging onto Jimin’s side. 

“I’m angry,” Hoseok declared. Yoongi patted his head gently. “Why am I leaving? This is my dorm. I don’t consent. I’m not sleeping with a  _ cheater _ .” 

“Okay, he’s gonna crash at my place for tonight. I’ll save you the trouble of dealing with him,” Yoongi sighed. Hoseok had rested his head on Yoongi’s shoulder and was now falling asleep. 

“Joon and I can give everyone a ride,” Jin offered. “You too, Jimin.” 

“As long as Namjoon isn’t driving,” Hoseok mumbled. Jimin sent Jin a thumbs up. 

“See you guys later,” Jeongguk called as they left, too lazy to stand up and walk them out. He could see the front door from where he sat, it was fine. 

“Bye, guys,” Taehyung said, still with an odd edge that made Jeongguk’s hairs stand up uneasily. Once everyone had left, Jeongguk stood with a stretch, starting to clean up. Taehyung helped him wordlessly, the two comfortably cleaning the living room in silence. 

“So, are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” Jeongguk asked once they were done. Taehyung tensed, jaw tightening. 

“Nothing’s wrong-”

“Bullshit,” Jeongguk interrupted. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m here for you, babe.” Taehyung took a deep, shaky breath, closing his eyes for a moment. 

“My parents called to… to tell me that my, uh. My grandma passed away earlier today. She went, um, peacefully, I guess. Alone. But peacefully,” Taehyung explained. Jeongguk’s jaw dropped. He remembered how fondly Taehyung would speak of his grandmother. The woman practically raised him; they were cl0ser than he was to his mother. Jeongguk tried to blink away the tears forming in his eyes.

“I’m so, so sorry, Tae, oh my God. Come here,” Jeongguk demanded, making grabby motions with his hands. Taehyung fell into him easily, letting himself cry into Jeongguk’s neck, finally hidden and able to express his sadness.

Jeongguk felt himself crying too, unable to compose his emotions after hearing Taehyung’s cries. They were different from the last time he heard Taehyung cry, less terrified and more heartbroken. 

“I know, baby, it’s okay,” Jeongguk soothed, rubbing his hand across Taehyung’s back gently. 

“I-I wasn’t there for her,” Taehyung sobbed. “She t-told me that I should’ve v-visited this summer but I was too b-busy and I didn’t k-know.”

“You couldn’t have known, Tae. It’s okay,” Jeongguk muttered. He let Taehyung cry for a while, giving quiet reassurances and offering as much comfort as possible. Eventually, they ended up on the couch, Taehyung cradled delicately in Jeongguk’s lap. 

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung mumbled sleepily. Jeongguk stroked a hand through his hair. 

“Shh,” was all he said, feeling Taehyung relax and fall asleep. Gently, Jeongguk lifted him and brought him to bed, tucking them both under the covers and pressing a soft kiss to his head. He cried himself then, let tears fall for the pain he knew Taehyung was in. Anything Jeongguk was feeling would be amplified for Taehyung.

Observing the boy, Jeongguk noticed that he was oddly still; usually, he tossed and turned in his sleep, but tonight, he seemed nearly dead. Jeongguk fell asleep with Taehyung held closely, worry eating at his heart. 

“You really didn’t have to do all this,” Taehyung sighed as they watched the Seoul bus station start to pass. Jeongguk put an arm around Taehyung, settling in for the ride.

“I told you, this is important and I want to be here for you,” Jeongguk explained. He felt Taehyung relax slightly, resting his head on Jeongguk’s shoulder briefly. 

“I just feel bad. You’re missing class, and you had to spend money-” Taehyung argued. Jeongguk teasingly placed a hand over his mouth, cutting off Taehyung.

“No more,” he ordered. “I’m telling you, this was my choice. I know how much she meant to you, and I’m not letting you face this alone, okay?”

“Thank you,” Taehyung smiled, the first real one he’d seen in awhile, soft around the edges. There was a slight lapse of silence before Taehyung spoke again. 

“Do you think I was selfish?” Taehyung asked. Jeongguk pulled back to look at him.

“What do you mean?” 

“About seeing my grandmother, last summer. I knew she was old and I knew that she wasn’t going to be around forever, but I just- I thought there was more time, you know? I was only thinking about myself and my schoolwork. I didn’t think she was lonely, but now that I’m looking back…” Taehyung trailed off. Jeongguk brought a hand up to stroke his jawline. 

“No, I don’t think you were being selfish. She would have wanted you to get your work done. I doubt she knew what was going to happen, either. So don’t worry about it, yeah? You should cherish the moments you had with her over the ones you could have had,” Jeongguk advised. Taehyung nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. 

“Am I selfish for bringing you into this?” Taehyung wondered. Jeongguk flicked his forehead, making Taehyung flinch.

“If you bring that up one more time, I swear to god,” Jeongguk laughed. “Missing a few days of school isn’t going to kill me.” Taehyung giggled slightly, letting out a relieved breath. 

“Yes. Okay. Thank you,” he said. Jeongguk gave him a quick kiss, trying to convey a sense of nonchalance. Taehyung smiled into the kiss and he knew that his message got across. 

They talked about lighter topics for the rest of the ride, memories of Taehyung’s grandmother and stories from Jeongguk’s childhood as well. The hours passed by quickly and soon enough, they were dragging their suitcases off the travel bus and searching for Taehyung’s father in the crowd. 

“He probably did something stupid like make a sign, “Taehyung grumbled. To neither of their surprise, they found Taehyung’s dad holding a cardboard sign with  _ ‘TaeTae and his lover boy’ _ written in cursive font. 

“He hasn’t seen us yet, you know. We can totally just find a motel-” Taehyung tried, tugging on Jeongguk’s arm. Before he could retaliate, Taehyung’s father caught sight of them. 

“Oh, Taehyung! Jeongguk!” he called out. Taehyung smiled, his pretend annoyance fading as he sped over to hug his father. 

“How are you holding up?” he asked, smoothing down Taehyung’s wild hair. Tae shrugged, gesturing to Jeongguk.

“Dad, this is Jeongguk,” Taehyung introduced. Taehyung’s father smiled widely, the same rectangular shape as his son. 

“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m sorry about the circumstance,” Jeongguk said, offering his hand. Taehyung’s dad shook it firmly. 

“Likewise, Jeongguk. You can drop the formalities, by the way, just call me Chul and my wife Jaehee,” he spoke very casually, much to Jeongguk’s surprise. It was strange to use informal language when addressing his elders.

“Thank you, _ Chul _ ,” Jeongguk said, a smile on his lips. Taehyung looked pleased that they were getting along. 

They made pleasant small talk and got to know each other on the ride home, going through all of the mandatory questions like age, career goals and past. Taehyung stayed mostly quiet, sort of spaced out and unusually quiet. Chul was nice and eerily similar to Taehyung; Jeongguk found himself liking Taehyung’s father right away. Compared to Jeongguk’s own father, Chul was so supportive and kind, not loving Taehyung any less for being gay and accepting Jeongguk immediately. 

Taehyung’s childhood home was small and cozy with a farm-like charm to it that made Jeongguk feel warm inside. Taehyung’s mom was gardening outside, floral printed gloves coming off when she noticed the car pulling up.

“Taehyung!” she greeted happily, holding up her dress to make her way towards the car. Taehyung’s whole face lit up when he caught sight of his mother running towards them.

“Mom!” he yelled, jumping out and catching her in his arms. Jeongguk felt his heart stutter a little, the sight almost too cute to handle. 

“I missed you so much,” Taehyung’s mom sighed into his shoulder, even though she probably knew that Taehyung couldn’t read her lips. Jeongguk and Chul took their time collecting their bags, letting Taehyung and Jaehee have their moment. 

“You must be Jeongguk!” Jaehee exclaimed suddenly. Jeongguk smiled and held out a hand for her to shake. Jaehee swerved his hand and went in for a hug instead. 

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you,” she muttered warmly. Jeongguk bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his grin. 

“You too, Taehyung’s told me so many nice things,” Jeongguk laughed. Jaehee pulled back and patted Jeongguk’s cheeks. 

“I’d hope so,” she hummed. Taehyung slipped his hand into Jeongguk’s. Jaehee signed something to her son, which made him blush and sign something back even faster. The two of them went back and forth for a moment before Jaehee laughed and started to hustle them inside.

“C’mon, let’s go eat! I made your favourite, Taehyung,” she said while signing to Taehyung at the same time. Taehyung glowed, following his mom eagerly and dragging Jeongguk in too. Chul followed behind them, watching Taehyung and Jeongguk and the subtle skinship between them. The two were so obviously in love, shown in timid touches and slight glances at each other in the most cliche way. 

“That was so good,” Taehyung groaned, leaning back and rubbing his stomach comically. Jeongguk laughed at him, rubbing the back of his neck in soothing motions. 

“It was, Jaehee, thank you for the meal,” Jeongguk said. Jaehee beamed. 

“Taehyung, I’m adopting your boyfriend,” Jaehee teased. Taehyung pouted. 

“But then I couldn’t date him, that’s not fair,” Taehyung whined, dropping his head heavily on Jeongguk’s shoulder. Chul began to pick up the dishes, whacking Taehyung gently on the head as he passed by. 

“Alright, boys, you’re probably tired from the ride,” Jaehee sighed, standing from the table. The boys helped clear the table before heading to Taehyung’s room for the night.

Jeongguk followed closely behind his boyfriend as he carried all of their luggage since he insisted he was able to do it by himself. After a few slight stumbles, Taehyung was turning a sharp corner and opening a door.

“Wow,” Jeongguk breathed, as his eyes wandered around the room and inspected everything with excruciating detail.

Taehyung chuckled at his boyfriend’s reaction. “Not what you were expecting?”

With a nervous laugh, Jeongguk shook his head.

The room was much smaller than anticipated, the walls only about two arm spans away in length each way. Jeongguk was taken off guard by the amount of personality in such a tiny, somewhat bare room; Taehyung didn’t have many possessions, but the walls were covered in pictures and trophies lined the shelves. His bed was simply some thick blankets layered upon a soft pad, the traditional Korean style that was, conveniently, very cheap. 

Jeongguk began to take a closer look at the photos, smile high on his cheeks. Taehyung was popular even as a child, it seemed, a bunch of different people in every photo. A particular child caught Jeongguk’s eye.

“That’s Jimin!” Jeongguk gasped. Taehyung laughed. 

“Yeah, I told you we’ve been friends for a long time,” Taehyung laughed, already beginning to unpack their belongings. 

“Wow, you look so young. Cute and chubby,” Jeongguk teased. Taehyung scrunched up his face. 

“I know for a fact that I wasn’t chubby. My grandma used to always tell me that if I didn’t gain weight, I’d just become a skeleton covered in skin,” Taehyung muttered wistfully, the memory slipping out before he realized it. Jeongguk rubbed a gentle hand over his shoulders in silent comfort. 

“You look like a monkey here,” Jeongguk continued to mock, bringing back the cheerful atmosphere. Mock offended, Taehyung held a hand to his chest. 

“Excuse you, Jeon. At least I don’t look like a- a- a  _ squirrel _ ,” Taehyung forced out, but his pronunciation of the word was very accented. Jeongguk’s jaw dropped and he started to laugh. 

“Aw, Tae, that was so cute!” he chuckled. Taehyung was beet red, hands coming up to cover his face.

“Shut up, it was horrible,” Taehyung whined. Jeongguk pulled at his wrists, still laughing. 

“How would you know that? I think it was adorable. Seriously. I’m deadass like, melting. Swooning! Yeah, that’s the word,” Jeongguk decided, nodding with conviction. Taehyung was still chewing on his lip nervously. 

“You really think it was cute? And not, like- pathetic?” Taehyung asked timidly. Jeongguk felt his heart cramp at Taehyung’s blatant insecurity. 

“Pathetic? Of course not, Tae, it was so cute. You’re so cute. Everything you  _ do  _ is cute-” Jeongguk rambled, but Taehyung cut him off with a smushed kiss. 

“You’re too nice to me,” Taehyung giggled, squishing Jeongguk’s face with consideration. “Hmm, I change my mind now. You look like a bunny.” 

“Hey! I was being nice!” Jeongguk yelped, smacking Taehyung gently. Taehyung pulled back, rubbing his injury with a pout and returning to the bed where his clothes were still scattered around, half-folded. 

Jeongguk continued his quest of wandering, eyes running over the trophies. Some were simple ones from science fairs and spelling bees, but a few in the back caught Jeongguk’s eye; there were two medals for a music competition. Jeongguk noticed that Taehyung had never specified how, exactly, he lost his hearing. Of course, they’d touched on the subject, but Taehyung had briefly explained that he lost it around 8 years old and that was that. Never anything before, never anything about how, just that it happened young. 

In the back of his mind, he thought about ignoring it again, but decided that if he didn’t ask, it would gnaw away at him.

“Tae?” he called, making sure to get his attention away from the clothes before speaking again. “Don’t answer if you’re uncomfortable or anything, but I just, uh. I didn’t know you played music?”

“Yeah, a long time ago,” Taehyung laughed, though Jeongguk could tell that the sound was uneasy. 

“You, um, stopped… after?” Jeongguk continued. Taehyung sat down on his mat, patting the spot next to him with a sigh.

“Do you want me to explain it all, then?” Taehyung asked, catching on to Jeongguk’s intentions. He looked unsure of himself yet determined at the same time. 

“If you don’t want to, then that’s fine, you can-” 

“No, you deserve to know. We’re dating. It’s not fair of me to keep secrets,” Taehyung said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. 

“Uh, o-okay,” Jeongguk stammered, sitting down and taking Taehyung’s hand for support. Taking a deep breath, Taehyung began. 

“So, yeah, I played the piano for a few years and had quite a knack for it I guess. I won some stuff, enjoyed it. But when I was 8, I got really sick. Really, really sick. I got sick a lot as a kid, so it didn’t seem like much. I stayed at home ill for a week before I went to the hospital, but by then it was too late. “Apparently, my immune system is super weak and sensitive to stress and sadness and overall, like, taxing emotions. So these piano competitions triggered that, and by the time the hospital had started to treat me, my hearing was already beginning to fade, I had a wild fever and I was close to death. Usually meningitis, that’s what it’s called, it doesn’t often do what it did to me, but since I was a kid and it took so long to diagnose, well, it messed me up pretty bad. I spent a long time in the hospital, had to be held back a grade and figure out how to live without hearing. 

“I got back on my feet and began to recognize when I was getting sick again, and it’s just something that I live with now. But after I lost my hearing, I couldn’t play the piano anymore. I tried, but it just didn’t work. We can’t all be Beethoven… A lot of my friends left me and I eventually moved to a special non-hearing school, met Jimin, and the rest is history, I guess.”

Jeongguk was stunned, to say the least. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but Taehyung’s story had him blinking back tears. He didn’t seem bitter about it, or angry or even sad; he told the story with a practised voice, well put together, like he was used to it, used to being sick and not being able to hear. Which, Jeongguk assumed, he  _ was _ , which made Jeongguk upset because to him, Taehyung deserved to hear and never get sick and have everything. 

“Thank you, for telling me,” he muttered hoarsely, pulling Taehyung in for a hug. Taehyung didn’t seem phased. 

“No, really, you deserved to know. It’s not some big, heroic story, but, well. It’s what I’ve got,” he laughed into Jeongguk’s shoulder. They embraced for a while, somehow ending up on their backs in their pile of clothes, a tangled pile of fabric and limbs. 

“Tae,” Jeongguk muttered sleepily. “We need to turn off the light at least.”

“Mmmno,” Taehyung grumbled, burrowing further into Jeongguk with a huff. 

“Taeee,” Jeongguk whined. Taehyung rolled off him with another angry huff, letting Jeongguk stand to turn off the light and remove some of the clothes. When he was done, Taehyung made grabby hands and attached back to Jeongguk’s side with a content noise, something along the lines of “g’night.’

Jeongguk watched as Taehyung’s hands shook, unable to cross the silk fabric of his tie. He made a frustrated face, dropping the fabric rather violently and scrubbing a hand over his face.

“Hey, babe, let me do it,” Jeongguk muttered softly, smoothing out the tie before tying it up swiftly, making sure to brush Taehyung with his fingers as often as possible, a soothing, subtle touch. 

“Thank you,” Taehyung whispered, voice quiet and sombre. 

Their entire morning had been gloomy. Jaehee had been quiet, and Chul had made weak attempts at jokes for Jeongguk’s sake. The two of them were nearly all of the conversation at breakfast, talking about mundane things and filling the tragic silence that rang in their ears.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Taehyung said suddenly, a bit too loud. Jeongguk jumped, holding his face in his hands. 

“You can, Tae. You’ll do fine, yeah? I’m here. We can do it together,” Jeongguk reassured. Taehyung nodded, lips red and blotted from being chewed on. 

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. Together,” Taehyung repeated, taking one of Jeongguk’s hands and lacing their fingers. “We can do it.”

The funeral itself was how any funeral would be. A lot of crying, a lot of speeches. Taehyung was mostly quiet, not crying but sometimes making small, strangled noises that only Jeongguk could hear. 

Once the service was over, everybody gathered in the reception hall for the celebration of life. Taehyung hadn’t let go of Jeongguk’s hand once, and now that Jeongguk could focus, he could hear the whispers of the people around them, hissed words directed at their joined hands and their close bodies. Words like “shame” and “disgusting” and “disgrace,” words that Jeongguk knew too well from his own family. For once, Jeongguk was grateful for Taehyung’s deafness; he didn’t need to hear those venomous words on top of his current struggles.

“Tae, your cousins want to talk to you,” Jaehee said softly, signing the words to Taehyung. After a moment, she signed something but didn’t say it aloud. Taehyung sighed, his head rising from where it was resting on Jeongguk’s shoulder. 

“Don’t disclude Jeongguk. She said that they want to talk to me, without you, because we make them uncomfortable,” Taehyung translated. Jeongguk wasn’t sure what to say.

“Uh, yeah, of course, I’ll be right here,” he decided on. Taehyung gave him an apologetic smile. 

“My grandma would throw a fit if she knew how people have been treating us,” Taehyung muttered with a small smile. Jeongguk grinned too, giving him an obvious kiss on the forehead before sending him off to talk with his family. 

Chul walked up to him, patting Jeongguk on the back in a way that caught him off guard. 

“You two are really good together, you know that?” he told Jeongguk, voice nearly proud. Jeongguk blushed, pleased that Chul accepted him so quickly. 

“You and Jaehee, you, um, you guys are really great. My parents, they don’t agree with my, ah, choices, I guess. I’ve already asked them to meet Tae, and they refused. What I’m trying to say is that I’m so grateful to you two,” Jeongguk rambled. The words came tumbling out of his mouth, adding to his embarrassment. 

“There’s something wrong with the world, son. The way you and my boy look at each other is something that we rarely see these days. It reminds me of how Jaehee and I used to look. I don’t understand how people can so hatefully judge you for something so insignificant,” Chul ranted. Jeongguk nodded, awestruck at the strong words. 

“Wow, Taehyung is really lucky to have you two,” Jeongguk murmured. Chul laughed.

“We’re here for you too now, Jeongguk. Whenever you need us. Don’t worry too much about your parents, alright? They’ll hopefully realize what they’re missing out on,” Chul comforted. Jeongguk nodded, watching Taehyung hug one of his younger cousins. 

“Yeah, I’m sure they’d love Tae. Who wouldn’t?” Jeongguk chuckled. Chul snorted, shaking his head.

“I was talking about you,” he laughed. Jeongguk blushed. 

“O-Oh! Thank you,” Jeongguk stammered. Chul shook his head in amusement, the two of them watching Taehyung unknowingly. 

“I can tell he’s really hurt by this,” Jeongguk observed. Chul hummed in agreement. 

“My mother was everything to him. He’d get so excited visiting her farm and after he fell ill, she took care of him constantly while we worked to pay for hospital bills. I think he still feels bad, you know. About the money, how hard we all had to work,” Chul sighed. Jeongguk nodded in understanding. He knew how Taehyung could get. 

“I never thought about how much the bills would have added up to,” Jeongguk whistled lowly, making Chul groan.

“Oh man, we had to work overtime nearly every night. He felt so bad. When we’d return after work, he’d always apologize. When we tried to start saving for implants, he absolutely refused. Which, looking back, was a good choice. We could have never afforded it,” Chul explained. 

“Implants? What implants?” Jeongguk asked, intrigued. 

“Cochlear implants,” Chul told him. “It’s a little device that would repair the damaged part of Taehyung’s ear and make him hear again, at least somewhat.”

“Like… hearing aids on steroids?” Jeongguk pieced together, making Chul burst out in laughter. 

“Basically, yes,” he agreed with a chuckle. Jeongguk had his mouth open to ask another question when Taehyung returned. 

“Did you miss me?” he joked weakly, holding Jeongguk’s hand without a moment’s hesitation. Jeongguk smiled warmly. 

“Of course,” he replied honestly, the thought of the implants not leaving his mind for the rest of the funeral. 

Their goodbyes to Chul and Jaehee were quick and heartfelt. They made their trip short and quick, being college students and all, but Taehyung seemed much less on edge and the sight made Jeongguk’s heart swell. So, with promises to visit soon and to call lots, the couple boarded the bus again. 

Jeongguk had Taehyung practically laying on him, their bags tucked under their chairs and, thankfully, nobody else in the seats across from them. 

“Thank you,” Taehyung muttered sleepily against Jeongguk’s chest. The younger boy rolled his eyes and ran his hand through Taehyung’s hair, making him hum contently. 

“If you thank me again I’m going to actually fight you,” Jeongguk retorted, even though Taehyung couldn’t possibly know what he was saying. Taehyung squished further into a ball, looking so incredibly cat-like that Jeongguk couldn’t resist stroking a hand down his neck. Taehyung didn’t seem to mind, and Jeongguk thought he was asleep until he spoke up again. 

“You’re like, the best boyfriend ever, you know?” he mumbled. Jeongguk chuckled, heart swelling with pride. 

“Hmm,” was all he said in acknowledgement. Taehyung tilted his head so that he could see Jeongguk’s face.

“Seriously. You just, like, took me to a funeral, despite the fact that you’ve never met my family before. And you let me cuddle! Always. That’s so nice,” Taehyung praised. Jeongguk was blushing, trying to squish Taehyung’s cheeks so that he’d stop talking.

“Thank you, please stop now,” Jeongguk whined. Taehyung giggled the cutesy laugh that Jeongguk adored the most. 

“No! You’re all blushy now. It’s cute. How can you be cute but also like, hot and shit? That’s not fair. You need to pick one,” Taehyung demanded, holding onto Jeongguk’s hand, smiling softly. “Plus, you-”

“Taehyung, oh my god,” Jeongguk groaned, rolling his eyes, embarrassed. 

“I have an idea,” Taehyung declared suddenly. Jeongguk raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah? And what’s that?” Jeongguk prompted. Taehyung smirked, sitting up a little more to look at Jeongguk with excitement.

“Marry me!” he said. Jeongguk sucked in air so quickly that he choked on his own spit, heart literally stopping in his chest. 

“What- You- Taehyung,  _ jesus christ _ , you-” Jeongguk sputtered. “We haven’t even been dating for a  _ year _ !” Taehyung clamoured off his lap and onto the floor, grinning like the fucking minx he was, pretending to hold out his hands as if there was a ring in it and ignoring the mass amount of people surrounding them.

“Jeon Jeongguk, will you marry me?” Taehyung asked again. Jeongguk was swatting at Taehyung’s arm, trying to get him to stand again. People were looking, some excited and some disgusted. “What’s your answer? Huh?” 

“I’ll  _ metaphorically  _ marry you if you  _ get the fuck up, _ ” Jeongguk groaned, to which Taehyung let out a cry of joy and climbed up beside Jeongguk again. “You didn’t even propose properly, you shit. I expect a  _ ring _ . I am a classy man.”

“Well, think of it as like, engaged to be engaged. Metaphorically,” Taehyung reasoned. Jeongguk buried his face in his neck, chuckling softly. 

“I love you,” he muttered, knowing that Taehyung wouldn’t be able to see. He pulled back then so that Taehyung could see him say, “you’re an idiot.”

“I’m your idiot,” Taehyung clarified, making Jeongguk flick him in the nose. 

“That was disgusting, we’re unengaged,” Jeongguk sighed. Taehyung laughed melodically and hugged Jeongguk tighter. 

After returning, life went back to normal; Taehyung buried himself in his work again (the boy was a secret genius) and Jeongguk kept putting everything off until he had no choice but to do it. Throughout the week, Jeongguk kept sneaking time to research the cochlear implants, curiosity eating away at him. He wanted to know more, and the opportunity arose at their weekly game night. 

“I’m not losing,” Jin told them all, handing the pack of cards to Namjoon. Hoseok slammed his hands on the table. 

“Listen here, you cocky fuck, just because your food is good doesn’t mean that we’re going to let you win,” he countered, to which Jin calmly smiled. 

“Okay, no more food for you then,” Jin said sweetly. Hoseok’s determined face faltered. 

“Isn’t this against the rules or some shit? Namjoon? You’re the moderator, do something,” Hoseok whined. Namjoon shrugged, dealing out the cards. Taehyung clucked his tongue, shaking his head at them.

“All this cheating is disgusting,” he chided, picking up his cards. Hoseok just gaped, looking at Taehyung with an awestruck expression. 

“Please tell me you’re fucking joking,” Hoseok deadpanned. Taehyung acted offended.

“Cheating is a sin, Hoseok. I would never,” Taehyung gasped. Hoseok looked over at Jeongguk with a frozen expression. 

“Are you just going to let this happen,” he asked. Jeongguk shrugged.

“I think he’s cute,” he told Hoseok as if Taehyung being cute was a good enough reason to let him cheat. Hoseok stared at Jimin suddenly.

“I love you the most,” he said, “because you are not annoying, and you also don’t have an annoying boyfriend.” Jimin smiled and gave a thumbs up, which Taehyung gasped at.

“Jimin! You traitor!” Taehyung choked. Jimin just shrugged, picking up his own set of cards and sitting back in his chair. Everyone took a serious moment to study their cards before Jin made a noise of approval. 

“Don’t! Don’t even make that noise, Kim Seokjin. You’re always a shitty hand,” Hoseok snapped. Jin raised an eyebrow and smirked. 

“That’s not what Namjoon thinks-” Jin started, stopping when Namjoon made a whale-like noise. 

“I think we need more beer!” he yelled, standing up. Taehyung stood too. 

“Beer!” he cheered. Namjoon rolled his eyes and grabbed Taehyung’s wrist, making Jeongguk bring up a hand instinctively and rest it around Taehyung’s hips.

“Chill, you fucking  _ guarddog _ , I’m taking him with me to go on a beer run,” Namjoon grumbled, muttering to himself as he walked away from the table. “Hormonal fucking teenagers, jesus christ.”

“I’ll be back, bye!” Taehyung called out, leaning over to give Jeongguk a quick kiss and patting Jimin on the head softly. Jimin got up too, signing something to Taehyung, who snorted. 

“Okay, Jimin’s coming too because he hates you all,” Taehyung added. Jimin smacked him for relaying the wrong message. Hoseok stood, grabbing Jin by the arm. 

“We should get food while they get booze! I’m-” 

“A hungry drunk, yes, we all know. Trust me. We all know,” Jin sighed. “Fine, let’s go. We’ll be back, you two just… stay busy, or something. Play go fish.”

“Uh, okay,” Jeongguk stammered, suddenly feeling awkward as everybody left aside from him and Yoongi. The two of them were both naturally quieter, so Jeongguk began to stress about what to say. Thankfully, Yoongi spoke first.

“So… got any fives?” he asked. Jeongguk laughed, the tension leaving his body at once.

“Go fish,” he replied. Yoongi made a face. “Sixes?”

“Fuck you,” Yoongi groaned, handing over a card. “How were Jaehee and Chul?” Jeongguk felt himself get slightly flustered. He didn’t really know how to act around Yoongi; the two of them were hardly ever alone, and he didn’t know how to reply to such a personal question.

“They seemed alright. The funeral was hard for all of them,” Jeongguk sighed. They continued playing their game, slightly sidetracked by the conversation. 

“I’m glad they’re okay. They were all very close to her,” Yoongi said. Jeongguk nodded.

“They accepted me right away, too. I can’t believe how nice they are,” he laughed. Yoongi smiled, handing a card over to Jeongguk. There was another lapse of silence before Jeongguk saw an opportunity. 

“Yoongi, do you know anything about, uh, cochlear implants?” Jeongguk asked. Yoongi looked up. 

“Well, a bit, yeah. Why?” he wondered, hands tapping his cards. Jeongguk shrugged.

“Chul mentioned that they were going to get them for Taehyung when he was a kid, and I just- I don’t know, it’s been stuck in my head ever since,” Jeongguk explained. Yoongi bit his lip, looking like he was considering something.

“Well, they’re pricey. Extremely pricey,” he warned. Jeongguk nodded.

“I know, I’ve looked into them. Taehyung’s worth it, though,” he admitted. Yoongi’s mouth tightened. 

“Jeongguk, you know that Tae-”

_ “We have booze!” _ “ Hoseok’s voice interrupted. Yoongi sent Jeongguk a ‘ _ we’ll talk later’ _ look as the rest of their friends flooded back into the small dorm, Taehyung coming right to Jeongguk and touching his cold nose against Jeongguk’s neck. And, once again, the cochlear implants were pushed back. 

About an hour later, Jin had ended up winning poker after all. Hoseok was hammered, unsurprisingly, and Namjoon was trying to convince him that he owed everyone some money.

“Seriously, dude, why would I lie to you?” Namjoon was whining, trying to keep a straight face. Hoseok squinted at him.

“You- You’re mean,” Hoseok reasoned. He laughed suddenly. “I don’t even have money, I’m a fucking college student!” 

“He has a fair point,” Taehyung laughed, sipping at his beer. Jeongguk laughed, his hand absentmindedly tracing patterns on his knee. Yoongi stood suddenly. 

“I’ll be right back,” he declared before walking away. Everyone, mildly confused but used to Yoongi’s odd behaviour, let it slide. Jeongguk paid no mind to it until Taehyung stood too. Once again, his hand came up to hold his waist. 

“I’m just going pee, babe,” Taehyung laughed. Namjoon whacked Jeongguk on the side of the head.

“Jesus, boy, if you don’t start chilling the fuck out-” Namjoon grumbled, cut off by Jin.

“We didn’t raise you this way, Jeon Jeongguk,” he scolded. Taehyung gently removed Jeongguk’s hand. 

“Don’t miss me too much,” he teased, blowing a kiss. Jimin pretended to catch it and stuck his tongue out at Jeongguk, making Jin splutter. 

“I didn’t raise you like that, either, you little shit,” he hissed. Jeongguk smiled, watching Taehyung disappear down the hallway. 

“It’s fine, he’s straight,” Jeongguk reasoned, while Hoseok raised an eyebrow. 

“Taehyung could make anyone gay,” Hoseok said. Jeongguk glared, about to say something when Namjoon interrupted.

“Everyone’s a little homo for Tae,” he nodded. Jeongguk flipped him off, taking another drink. 

Ten minutes later, it occurred to Jeongguk that Taehyung didn't return from the washroom. Looking around, he noticed that Yoongi was absent as well. Jeongguk stood, thankful when nobody noticed and headed in the general direction of where the two went. A bad feeling was settling in Jeongguk’s gut again, making him bite his lip. He heard muffled voices, coming from the bedroom, but before he could enter, Yoongi opened the door. He looked guilty, refusing to meet Jeongguk’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Jeongguk,” Yoongi muttered before pushing past. Jeongguk frowned, wanting to ask more but Yoongi was already joining the others. Looking into the room, Jeongguk saw Taehyung sitting on the bed, staring at the floor.

“Baby? Did something happen?” Jeongguk asked, going to sit beside Taehyung, but the other boy stood up quickly. 

“Can we just go home?” he muttered. Jeongguk nodded, moving forward to hold Taehyung’s arm, but once again he moved away. Jeongguk felt his heart stutter; Taehyung never rejected his touch. 

“I- Yeah, sure, Tae,” Jeongguk agreed, following Taehyung out of the bedroom. Nobody said anything to either of them as they put on their shoes and coats, making Jeongguk even more confused.

Taehyung quickly left, forgetting to wish everyone goodbye, while Jeongguk quickly said goodbye to everyone and then chased after his boyfriend, who was already getting on the elevator that would take them down to the lobby of Yoongi’s apartment building. The ride down was painfully quiet, neither making an effort to say something, but the walk home was even worse.

Jeongguk’s hand was cold in Korea’s harsh winter without Taehyung’s fingers laced in his. He walked at a decent pace, Taehyung trailing behind him by a few strides with his head hung low to the ground. The younger boy looked back at his boyfriend, sighing at the sight of a gloomy Taehyung before he abruptly stopped walking. Taehyung, who wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, crashed into Jeongguk.

“Sorry,” he timidly said, refusing to look Jeongguk directly in the eye, always averting his gaze somewhere else, “Why’d we stop?”

Jeongguk didn’t know what to say. His mouth had opened and then immediately closed itself as he tried to think of something to say. After a minute of stalling, Jeongguk finally found the only words he could muster up.

“Are you okay?” He said, looking at his boyfriend with sad eyes.

“ _ Are you okay _ ?” Taehyung mocked, “Is that all you have to say?”

“Uh, yeah? What’s this about Tae?” Jeongguk asked, worried by his boyfriend’s sudden behaviour.

Taehyung kept quiet for a moment as if he was trying to stop himself from speaking. This only worried Jeongguk further.

“Back at the apartment… Did Yoongi do something? Something to you? Because I swear to god, Tae, if he did som-” Jeongguk was interrupted by Taehyung letting out an indifferent chuckle.

“Do you really think that’s what this is about? Yoongi would never do that, Jeongguk. I can’t believe you’d just accuse him of something like that, he’s one of my best-friends,” Taehyung spoke calmly, but Jeongguk could hear an emotion-laced within his voice that he had only heard a handful of times. Anger. Pure emotional rage, masked behind a calm facade.

“Okay, then. Just tell me why you’re acting like this.” Jeongguk pleaded.

Taehyung bit his lip in concentration, breaking through the skin. “Why didn’t you tell me you were looking into the implants? Why’d you go to Yoongi instead?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Jeongguk admitted, still confused as to why Taehyung was so upset. He clenched his jaw and didn’t answer for a few seconds. 

“Why? Why are you so interested in them?” Taehyung finally asked, voice heavy. Jeongguk tried grabbing Taehyung’s wrist but Taehyung shook him off again.

“I just wanted- I wanted to, you know, fix you! I thought I was-” Jeongguk tried explaining, unsure of how to properly articulate his feelings. Taehyung laughed loudly, the sound bitter and harsh. 

“Fix me, huh? You wanted to  _ fix  _ me? How kind of you,” Taehyung yelled, pushing Jeongguk away from him. “Why don’t you try fixing someone else then, huh?” 

“Tae, wait-” Jeongguk tried, unsure of why his words were impacting Taehyung in this way. 

“I’m going home,” Taehyung declared, turning from Jeongguk and walking away. Jeongguk ran after him, getting in front of Taehyung again.

“But- But home is the other way,” Jeongguk argued, gesturing to where his apartment was. Taehyung shook his head. 

“I’m going back to  _ my  _ home. Goodbye, Jeongguk,” Taehyung said, voice void of any emotion. Jeongguk could only watch as Taehyung walked away, arms wrapped around himself tightly.

_ It’s okay,  _ Jeongguk told himself,  _ I can talk to him tomorrow. He’ll come back home. I can make this right. _

He walked home alone, crawled into his bed alone and slept alone for the first time in months. Needless to say, Jeongguk didn’t get much sleep, tossing and turning in his bed, constantly reaching for a body that wasn’t there. 

Taehyung didn’t answer his texts for two days. Jeongguk figured he just needed some space so he ignored Taehyung every time he purposely avoided Jeongguk at school. Every time he heard a noise, he thought it was Taehyung coming back to talk things over. 

Finally, on the third day, Taehyung knocked on the door. 

“Finally,” Jeongguk sighed, voice conveying his relief. But then Taehyung brushed by him, not saying anything, and began to pick up his things. 

“Tae? What are you doing?” Jeongguk asked. Taehyung didn’t answer, grabbing one of his shirts off the floor. Jeongguk felt himself getting angry, annoyed at the silent treatment. 

“Taehyung, can you at least talk to me like an adult?” Jeongguk snapped. Taehyung didn’t hear him, or at least he acted like he couldn’t read Jeongguk’s lips.

“I’m just here to get my things. Then I’m leaving,” Taehyung explained. Jeongguk threw his hands up.

“Why? Why can’t you just stay here and talk this through with me?” Jeongguk asked in exasperation. Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“What is there to talk about? You obviously don’t like me the way I am, so why bother trying?” Taehyung snapped back. Jeongguk ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to hold back his temper.

“So, you’re saying that you’d rather let this misunderstanding get between us? Do you not care enough about our relationship to even try?” Jeongguk asked. Taehyung balled his hands into fists.

“What misunderstanding? I think I understand everything pretty fucking clearly, Jeongguk. I’ll spare us both the time and effort because, clearly,  _ fixing  _ me would be quite a bit of work, right?” Taehyung spat. Jeongguk could see that he was holding back tears, his voice hinting to his sadness. 

“What, then? Are you breaking up with me?” Jeongguk said, voice shaking. He saw Taehyung’s throat constrict as if the words were stuck in his throat. 

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Taehyung told him, lips pressed into a tight line. Jeongguk nodded. 

“Fine, then,” Jeongguk replied. “Goodbye, Taehyung.”

“Goodbye, Jeongguk,” Taehyung muttered, turning around to walk out. The minute the door shut behind him, Jeongguk’s tears fell and he cried for the love he just let go.

Everything Jeongguk did reminded him of Taehyung. 

He found himself wandering around to the places they used to go, remembering their time together like he was in a low-level romance film. Yet, no matter how tight his chest became or how hard his body ached to hold Taehyung again, he wouldn’t go and look for him. Jeongguk refused to cave, absolutely wouldn’t go crawling back. So instead, he sat at home alone and listened to slow songs until he fell into a light sleep every night, missing the feeling of another body next to his. 

His friends tried to cheer him up as much as they could, bringing him food and offering a spot at game night, but every time Jeongguk wasn’t able to go. The slight chance that Taehyung would be there hurt too much to even think about. So, when his first Friday without Taehyung came around, he sat alone in his empty apartment, with two bottles of booze and Taehyung’s voicemail soothing him to sleep. 

“...is it on? Yes? Oh, shit, okay, um. Hi. This is Taehyung’s phone. In case you weren’t aware of or, like, forgot I guess, I’m deaf, so I can’t hear your voicemail. Don’t leave a message after the beep. Thanks.”

Jeongguk left messages, tons of them, drunk and sober. He knew that Taehyung wouldn’t hear them. He knew that Taehyung didn’t care anymore. 

On the second day of being single, Yoongi showed up at Jeongguk’s apartment. 

“Jesus, kid, you look rough,” Yoongi sighed. Jeongguk glared at him from under his blanket, rubbing his tired eyes. 

“Thanks so much,” Jeongguk snapped, immediately regretting his tone. Yoongi sat down across from him on the floor, giving a sympathetic look. 

“I was gonna ask how you’re holding up, but I guess it’s pretty evident,” Yoongi sighed. “If it makes you feel better, Tae looks worse than you do.” Jeongguk laughed humourlessly.

“It doesn’t, that’s the thing. It doesn’t make me feel better at all,” he muttered. Yoongi hummed quietly, obviously unsure of what to say.

“If I speak, will you not interrupt me?” he asked. Jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. 

“Sure,” he agreed. Yoongi stood, taking a deep breath before beginning.

“Alright. You were kinda a dick,” he started. Jeongguk sat up right away, mouth open to protest. “No, let me continue. It’s not your fault because you were  _ unknowingly  _ being a dick, yeah?”

“That makes absolutely no sense,” Jeongguk argued, standing up and crossing his arms. 

“Well, not yet, because I’m still trying to explain. You pushing the whole cochlear implant thing hurt Taehyung in ways you couldn’t imagine. All throughout his childhood, he had people trying to fix him instead of helping him, you know? Instead of adapting with him and assisting his adaptations, they went right to trying to change him, and that’s pretty scarring to a kid like Tae,” Yoongi said. Jeongguk frowned. 

“That makes no sense. I was trying to help him by getting him the implants so he can hear!” Jeongguk snapped. Yoongi clenched his jaw, obviously holding in a temper. 

“The implants would alter him, that’s my whole point. They’d change him,” Yoongi tried. Jeongguk was becoming more and more frustrated. 

“Why the fuck wouldn’t he want to be changed? Those implants could help him hear again! I wanted him to be able to hear-” Jeongguk started. Yoongi interrupted him harshly, grabbing the collar of Jeongguk’s shirt and pulling their faces close. 

“Don’t ever say that shit around me again, kid. Nothing about Taehyung needs to be changed. You need to wrap your thick skull around how Taehyung might feel right now,” Yoongi growled. Jeongguk shoved the smaller boy off.

“How  _ he  _ might feel? What about me? I just got dumped for trying to help my boyfriend!” Jeongguk yelled, the earnest confusion in his voice being overpowered by his anger. He went to continue but a hard punch to his jaw cut him off. Jeongguk stumbled back, holding his face in his hand, shocked. Yoongi looked surprised as well, mouth slightly agape. He composed himself quickly, angry posture returning.

“I’m sorry for punching you, but you were being a dick again,” Yoongi said quietly. Jeongguk stood up, still holding his face.

“Get out,” was all he said, quiet and cold. 

“Jeongguk, I’m-”

“Get. The. Fuck.  _ Out _ ,” Jeongguk yelled, pushing Yoongi backwards towards the door. 

“Be mad at me all you want, yeah? But consider how he must feel and go talk to Taehyung. Please,” Yoongi pleaded. Jeongguk didn’t answer, sitting back down on the couch and wrapping himself in blankets. He heard Yoongi walk away, but didn’t expect him to return again and throw a package of frozen vegetables onto Jeongguk’s lap.

“Put that on your face. I’m sorry, again,” Yoongi apologized. Jeongguk ignored him and Yoongi took that as his cue to leave. 

As the door swung shut, Jeongguk found himself even more alone than he’d been before. 

After Yoongi had left that night, Jeongguk refused to pick up his calls. He didn’t feel like getting yelled at over the phone. It was the next day, sometime in the late afternoon when Jeongguk got sick of the constant noise of his phone going off and finally decided to just turn it off completely, ignoring everybody for a while. 

Sometimes, he’d find himself almost ready to walk to Taehyung’s apartment and beg for forgiveness. Hoseok didn’t help him at all. 

“Seriously, go apologize, Jeongguk,” Hoseok begged. Jeongguk rolled his eyes, slumping further in on himself. 

“Why? There’s no point,” Jeongguk countered. Hoseok leaned in close to him, pouting. 

“Yoongi is mad at you, and therefore Yoongi is mad at me,” Hoseok complained. Jeongguk groaned, bringing a foot up to push his friend away. 

“Shut up,” he groaned. Hoseok laughed, ruffling Jeongguk’s hair. 

“Seriously, though. You’re miserable. Just man up and apologize, I worked so hard to set you two up,” Hoseok whined. “You two are so good together.”

“If you keep talking I’m going to cry, and then you’re going to have to deal with my crying,” Jeongguk informed him. Hoseok shut up right away, sitting down next to Jeongguk and snuggling his side. 

“If you need help with shit, I’m here, okay?” Hoseok said, voice disturbingly serious. Jeongguk just nodded, throat too tight to form words.

He was debating whether to go to Taehyung when a knock sounded on the door, four days after his and Taehyung’s official breakup. A small part of Jeongguk hoped that it was Taehyung, but the bigger part of him knew that it wasn’t. Unsurprisingly, the person behind the door wasn’t Taehyung. Surprisingly, though, Jeongguk saw Jimin standing on the other side. Jeongguk let out a sigh, slumping against the doorframe. 

“Jimin, I really don’t want you to scold me too,” Jeongguk said, watching as Jimin signed frantically. “I don’t know what you’re trying to-”

“Pl...se,” Jimin choked out, stopping Jeongguk in his tracks. He gaped at the smaller boy, shock drying up his mouth.

“W-What?” Jeongguk stuttered, his whole body tensing. Jimin swallowed a few times, obviously preparing himself.

“Please,” he said, clearer this time. With shaking hands, Jeongguk opened the door wider, unbelievably terrified. 

“What are you doing? What happened? Why-” Jeongguk was asking as Jimin wandered around the dorm, looking for something. He found it suddenly, running back over to Jeongguk urgently and thrusting his powered-off phone into his hands. 

“You want me to- to turn it on? Is that it?” Jeongguk asked, doing so quickly when Jimin nodded and made urgent noises. The phone took a minute to power up, both of them waiting in tense anticipation. Jeongguk unlocked it with shaking fingers and handed it to Jimin, who opened Jeongguk’s phone app and started playing his messages. 

“First message, Sunday at 11:04 A.M: _ ‘Jeongguk, it’s Yoongi. I just- I’m sorry for hitting you, okay? But please come talk to Taehyung. He’s not doing very well. He hasn’t been eating much, and he- you know, just isn’t well. Please come over. I’m sorry.’ _

Second message, Sunday at 3:28 P.M: _ ‘Taehyung’s running a fever and we’re kind of worried. I think he’d feel better if you came and cleared things up. So, uh, you should do that. We’re begging you now.’ _

Third message, Sunday at 10:55 P.M:  _ ‘Taehyung just fell asleep so I just got the time to call you now, but he throws up everything he eats and he’s shaking like crazy. We have no idea what’s going on but he refuses to see a doctor. We really need your help, he doesn’t look good.’ _

Fourth message, Monday at 8:13 A.M: _ ‘Jeongguk, seriously. I don’t care about the fight anymore. Taehyung hardly slept and he’s sweating and shivering now. We don’t know what to do, please.’ _

Fifth message, Monday at 1:43 P.M:  _ ‘We think Taehyung had a seizure and passed out. We don’t know what’s going on, but we’re at the hospital and they’re talking about medically induced comas. If you give a shit about him anymore, get your ass over here, Jeongguk.’ _

End of messages. To delete messages, press-”

Jimin stopped the phone, tugging on Jeongguk’s wrist impatiently. Jeongguk was frozen, unable to breathe. Jimin was shaking him, making quiet little sob-like noises that broke Jeongguk from his trance.

“Where is he? Where’s Taehyung?” he asked, voice shaking. Jimin turned and jogged out of the dorm room, Jeongguk trailing close behind. 

The trip to the ER was silent. As soon as the taxi pulled up, Jeongguk took off, the two of them trailing through the maze of hallways until they arrived at Taehyung’s door. Yoongi, Namjoon and Jin were in the waiting room, all looking tired. 

“Where is he? Is he okay? What happened? Why-” Jeongguk asked, voice borderline hysterical. Yoongi grabbed his shoulder tightly and sat him down.

“You’re shaking. Calm down, he’s not dead,” Yoongi deadpanned. Jeongguk tried to control his breathing.

“Did Taehyung tell you about how he went deaf?” Jin asked gently. Jeongguk nodded. “Good. Well, due to the sudden… stress in his life, the doctors think that the illness is back. He wasn’t taking very good care of himself. The doctors have decided to put him in a medically induced coma so that his body can calm down and reduce inflammation.”

Jeongguk let out a shaky breath, feeling his heart drop. 

“Recent stress,” he repeated. His throat closed up, so tight he felt like he couldn’t get any air into his lungs. Jin was rubbing soothing little circles on his arm but Jeongguk could hardly feel it.

“Jeongguk, it wasn’t just you, okay? His grandma, school, his health habits, everything just added up at once, okay?” Jin explained. Jeongguk nodded, unconvinced. He looked up at Namjoon, who was half asleep. 

“How long have you guys… how long has he…” Jeongguk asked. 

“We’ve all been here since around 2. He had a seizure at Jin’s. Namjoon drove us here,” Yoongi said curtly. “I tried calling you. There wasn’t an answer.”

“I’m sorry,” Jeongguk whispered. Yoongi ignored him. 

“Taehyung’s parents are coming sometime tonight. Or, technically, early tomorrow morning. I’m not sure. I told them not to worry, plane tickets are pricey, but I guess they’re really worried. They’ve seen this before and we haven’t, so,” Yoongi rambled. Jeongguk’s vision was blurry as he stared at his shoes. 

“Y-Yoongi,” he hiccuped. Yoongi looked over at him finally, the tension escaping his body at the sight of Jeongguk’s distress. “I’m s-sorry.”

“Do you want to see him?” Yoongi asked. Jeongguk nodded urgently, heart pounding so fast he was sure that everyone could hear it. Yoongi stood, beckoning for Jeongguk to follow. 

“This is it. I’ll give you a bit, okay? We’re right out here,” Yoongi told him before leaving Jeongguk in front of Taehyung’s room. 

He stood in silence, still as a statue, as his mind raced a mile per minute. All rational thoughts were clouded by his anxiety and guilt. Jeongguk’s hand trembled nervously as he reached out to grab hold of the doorknob, twisting it to the right slowly and taking a deep breath when he heard the click of the door opening.

The room felt desolate when Jeongguk stepped inside, it was shrouded in darkness and the only sound being emitted was the hymn of medical equipment. Though the room was dark, Jeongguk could still make out the figure lying on the cot in front of him.

And there laid Kim Taehyung. From the perspective of a casual watcher, it would look as if he was just sleeping, but Jeongguk knew better. He knew that when Taehyung slept, he was never this eerily still or quiet. 

Jeongguk felt a crippling sense of guilt wash over him. Taehyung didn’t deserve this, and it all could have been avoided. Taehyung could still be awake, laughing, kissing Jeongguk on the cheek and stealing his food. Jeongguk reached a shaky hand out to barely brush Taehyung’s cheek, a little bit scared to hurt him more than he already has. 

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, voice raspy from crying. “Taehyung, you need to wake up soon so I can tell you how sorry I am, yeah?” Of course, there was no response from Taehyung. Jeongguk rested his forehead against Taehyung’s, feeling the boy’s faint breaths fanning over his face. 

“I love you,” Jeongguk whispered. “I didn’t have the courage to tell you. I should have told you. I love you so much, it hurts me, Taehyung-”

“Uh, I’m sorry, sir, but visiting hours are over now,” a nurse interrupted. Jeongguk pulled back, frantically wiping away his tears.

“O-Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll go,” he said, not wanting to leave Taehyung’s side. The nurse seemed to sense Jeongguk’s need to stay.

“I still have to finish my rounds, you can stay until then,” she told him gently. Jeongguk smiled, relieved that the nurse was being so kind. Jeongguk held Taehyung’s hand as the nurse checked his vitals and wrote things on her clipboard. 

“Um, is he… is he in a lot of pain?” Jeongguk asked weakly. The nurse looked at him in surprise. 

“Of course not! We put him in a coma to prevent pain, actually, and as a precaution so that his condition doesn’t worsen. Don’t worry, he’ll wake up soon,” she smiled. Jeongguk felt his cheeks redden slightly, nodding and thanking the nurse. She left to complete the rest of her rounds, giving Jeongguk an extra ten minutes to watch the slow rise and fall of Taehyung’s chest. When she came back, Jeongguk hadn’t moved at all. 

“You really have to go now, I’m sorry,” she sighed, obviously not liking to separate them. Jeongguk stood up, taking one last long look at Taehyung before thanking the nurse again and leaving. 

Back in the waiting room, only Namjoon and Yoongi remained. 

“You alright?” Namjoon asked tenderly, standing up and reaching out a hand to rub Jeongguk’s arm. Jeongguk shook his head, running a shaky hand through his hair. 

“Here, Jeongguk, he… he passed out with these in his hand. I think you should have them,” Namjoon said, turning around to pick up a photo from the chair behind him. They were the pictures from the aquarium, the shitty photobooth ones, a bit crumpled and worn. Jeongguk let out a quiet sob-like noise, mouth opening and closing, trying to find words. 

“Do you see now?” Yoongi sighed from where he sat, head in his hands. “Why he was so mad?”

“I-I-” Jeongguk stuttered, not sure what to say. Yoongi looked up, eyes red-rimmed and glassy.

“He didn’t want to be changed, Jeongguk. He didn’t want people to see him as weak or broken or fragile, because all his life, he’s been dealing with this shit. And to have you, the most important person in his life, tell him that he needed to change? It broke him,” Yoongi explained. Jeongguk was trying to hold back tears.

“He just wanted you to accept him, yeah? I know you just wanted to help, but Taehyung didn’t get that. All he wanted was for you to reassure him that he wasn’t broken or faulty, but you did exactly what his ex did. You tried to fix him,” Yoongi scolded. Jeongguk was crying, the realization of what he did finally dawning on him. 

“Oh, god, Yoongi, I-” Jeongguk cried, falling back into one of the chairs. Namjoon sat beside him, a hand rubbing over his back soothingly. 

“He’s not dead, though. You can make it up to him,” Yoongi said. Jeongguk sniffled, letting out a shaky, bitter laugh.

“Really? How the fuck can I take back what I’ve done?” Jeongguk snapped. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“You compromise, Jeongguk. Compromise.”

The next two weeks, Jeongguk spent most of his free time at the hospital or with Yoongi and Jimin, trying his best to learn sign language. He thought by how often he saw Taehyung doing it, that it’d come easily to him, but he was so, so wrong. 

“Yoongi, I’m never gonna learn this shit on time!” Jeongguk groaned after unsuccessfully translating something Jimin was signing. Yoongi rolled his eyes, pushing Jeongguk’s borrowed textbook back towards him. 

“You can’t learn a whole language in two weeks, dipshit,” Yoongi snorted. Jeongguk sighed, cracking his knuckles nervously.

“I just… I want Taehyung to be surprised when he wakes up, you know? I want to be so good that it leaves him in shock,” Jeongguk admitted. Jimin signed something to Yoongi, who then translated since there had been some complicated words used, and Jeongguk was still beginning. 

“He said that Taehyung would cry if you signed his name, let alone what we’re planning,” Yoongi said. Jeongguk felt himself relax slightly, but his determination didn’t waver. He crammed as much knowledge about the language as he could in between classes, before bed, even in the hospital when he was visiting Taehyung. 

It wasn’t until two days later that Jeongguk got the text from Namjoon.

From: Namjoon:  _ He’s awake. _

Jeongguk spent far too much money on a taxi, but the entire drive, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He didn’t have time for public transport, not when Taehyung was awake.

He ran through the hospital as fast as he could, stomach churning and heart pounding.

“Can I see-” Jeongguk panted as soon as he saw Jimin. He nodded, taking Jeongguk’s wrist and dragging him into Taehyung’s room.

Jeongguk felt all the breath leave his lungs. A loud laugh escaped his mouth, a grin spreading across his face. Taehyung was talking with the nurse, smiling, sitting up, blinking, breathing,  _ awake _ . Jeongguk watched as Taehyung looked his way, eyes widening and mouth falling open. 

“Jeongguk,” Taehyung said, voice so filled with emotion that Jeongguk’s eyes watered. Jimin signed to Taehyung, wide grin on his face.

_ “Jeongguk has something to say, so I’ll go.” _

Jimin smiled and left, the nurse following behind him and shutting the door.

“Jeongguk, I-” Taehyung started, but Jeongguk shushed him, shaking his head and taking a deep breath. Taehyung looked confused, watching Jeongguk as he sat on the edge of the bed. He felt his palms sweating with nerves, and he knew he was going to fuck up. Or Taehyung wasn’t going to forgive him. Timidly, Jeongguk raised his hands and timidly began to sign.

“ _ Taehyung, I’m so sorry. You don’t need to be fixed because you were never broken. Please forgive me. I love you.” _

Taehyung was staring at him, not moving. Jeongguk’s heart was threatening to burst from his chest.

“I don’t know too much, but I’m… learning,” Jeongguk admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at his lap. “I know it doesn’t make up for how much of an ass I’ve been, but I really mean it. I love you, and I never meant to hurt you, especially not… not like this.” Jeongguk’s voice was catching and he was glad at that moment that Taehyung couldn’t hear him. When he looked up again, Taehyung was crying, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. 

“No, no, baby don’t cry,” Jeongguk soothed, scooting forwards so that he could wipe Taehyung’s cheeks. Taehyung laughed, bringing a hand up to hold Jeongguk’s.

“I’m just… I love you too. And it means so, so much to me, for you to learn to sign, I… I'm sorry too.” Taehyung hiccuped. Jeongguk smiled, leaning forwards to kiss Taehyung’s nose gently. Taehyung scooted over, evidently making room for Jeongguk to lay.

“You’re the last one to come see me, you know? My parents were here when I woke up, and everyone else came right away,” Taehyung told him. Jeongguk gasped.

“I paid a taxi to get here, Kim Taehyung. There was  _ traffic _ ,” he complained. Taehyung giggled, shifting so that his face was resting in Jeongguk’s neck. 

“What, you didn’t run here heroically?” Taehyung teased, making Jeongguk frown. 

“I live a twenty-minute drive away, you shit,” Jeongguk sighed. Taehyung laughed again, the sound one that Jeongguk could never tire of hearing. 

“I was just in a coma, you can’t call me a shit,” Taehyung pouted, but he was interrupted by a wide yawn. 

“You should sleep if you’re tired,” Jeongguk told him. “It’s been a long day for you.”

“I just slept for two weeks, I don’t wanna sleep anymore,” Taehyung mumbled, but Jeongguk could tell he was dozing off. He smiled fondly, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Taehyung’s head. 

“Okay then, stay awake,” Jeongguk challenged. Taehyung threw a leg over Jeongguk with a ‘mmpf’ noise. 

“Mm love you,” Taehyung mumbled. Jeongguk rested an arm on his waist, closing his own eyes. 

He recalled, months ago, when he was complaining to Hoseok that he thought he was in love with the beautiful boy in his class. The memory made him smile, hand curling possessively around Taehyung’s.

“I love you, too,” Jeongguk said, even though he knew Taehyung was already asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikesmontana:  
> holy smokes this took a good 73 years!! thank u so much to anyone who read this far,, regnab and i put our heart and soul into this. comments and kudos are very appreciated!! if u liked this then u can check out my other works too and also follow my twitter @yikesmontana lol shameless self promo over thank u!!  
> yikesregan:  
> I remember coming up with this idea and began writing in late August of last year, but I'm really bad at actually sticking to something. Luckily I had Montana who liked the idea and wanted to help co-write, otherwise, this would have never existed without her. It's taken nearly an entire year to complete this, that is mostly due to a mixture of procrastination, writer's block and conflicting schedules though. We spent so much time co-writing and working on this together though that it has become kind of special to us? We know it's not a great piece of literature, but we enjoyed writing it and we hoped you enjoyed reading it. Thank you for reading if you managed to get this far, and please check out Montana's other works. Also, please go and follow me on twitter @yikesregan .  
>  
> 
> some actual quotes from our writing process:  
> "be like 'i dont know if i ever told u this buT I LOVE YOU BRO A LOT LIKE I WNAT TO PUT MY DICK IN YOU LOTS'"
> 
> "TAE LOVES GIVING THE SUCC,,,LOOK AT THAT BOY HE DEF LOVES GIVING THE SUCC HE IS A BoTTOM"
> 
> “mom no dont adopt my boyfriend pls ,, if u adopt him i cant have that DICC up my TIGHT ASSHOLE” 
> 
> m: "ok so tae gets nnnude right ,, luike he makes a sssensual joke ;))))"  
> r: "he is a chILD sSHHH "  
> m: "HE SAT OK KOOKS DICK EARLIER ON A T R A I N"


	3. Bonus Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's almost been a year since we published this fic!!! holy smokes!!  
> we saw a request for guk to meet tae's ex and thought that was a good idea so, voila! 
> 
> this was written in literally 2 hours please forgive any errors

Exactly one year, six months and three days into dating, Jeongguk still finds himself baffled by how pretty Taehyung could look. 

Dim streetlights were the only source of light as they strolled down the familiar street, hands laced together tightly, swinging in the space between them. They had found themselves going to a local theatre near Jeongguk’s dorm at least once a month as a date night, their busy schedules sometimes keeping them apart for longer than their liking. Despite the rather high prices, the theatre was within walking distance and featured foreign films. Taehyung would never admit it out loud, but Jeongguk knew he hated when movies didn’t have subtitles; as much as he pretended to be following along easily, there were always lines he missed. 

“Why is it so cold?” Taehyung complained quietly, burying his red nose further down his (Jeongguk’s) scarf. Jeongguk laughed, yanking Taehyung a little closer to his side. The newly blond boy stumbled, giggling lowly when Jeongguk made sure he didn’t fall. 

“I can’t change the weather for you, sorry babe,” Jeongguk shrugged, feeling a shiver run through Taehyung’s body pressed against his. Taehyung scoffed at him, shaking his head teasingly. 

“What kind of boyfriend. You know who’d change the weather for me?” Taehyung asked, not waiting for an answer from Jeongguk. “G-Dragon. He would. He’d look at the sky and tell it to warm up and it  _ would  _ because he’s G-Dragon and he can do that.”

“I wouldn’t even be mad if you dumped me for G-Dragon,” Jeongguk nodded, trying to keep his fond smile off his lips. Taehyung was also choking back a grin, keeping the serious facade going.

“Are you telling me you wouldn’t fight G-Dragon for my hand in marriage?” Taehyung inquired, eyebrow raised. Jeongguk scoffed, holding his free hand to his chest. 

“I would give G-Dragon your hand in marriage  _ for  _ you. I mean, he’s G-Dragon. I think he’d just walk up and say ‘hey, we’re getting married,’ and he’s G-Dragon so you wouldn’t even be able to say anything about it,” Jeongguk said. Taehyung hummed softly.

“That kind of sounds like a cult,” he pointed out. Jeongguk finally broke the atmosphere, laughing too loudly for the quiet streets.

“Well, yeah. It kind of is,” he agreed. Taehyung grinned, the boxy square one that everybody and their mothers fell in love with, and Jeongguk couldn’t resist stopping their stroll in order to grab his cute little face and plant a kiss to his forehead. 

“That was unnecessary,” Taehyung pouted, wiping his forehead off with his sleeve. 

“Stop being unnecessarily cute and I’ll stop being unnecessary,” Jeongguk argued. Taehyung grabbed Jeongguk’s face and returned a kiss to his forehead. 

“Now we’re even. Let’s go,” he chuckled, pulling Jeongguk along once more.

They walked for a few more minutes until the theatre came into view. Taehyung bounced up and down as he walked, excited about the movie. 

“I’m gonna cry, I can tell,” Taehyung gasped, glancing up at the poster. Jeongguk looked at him strangely.

“Why would Black Panther make you cry?” 

“They’re  _ snacks _ . The whole cast, I tell you. All absolute snacks.”

“What?”

“They’re just so… beautiful,” Taehyung sniffled, letting go of Jeongguk’s hand to wipe away imaginary tears. Jeongguk shook his head in amusement, ignoring Taehyung in order to get their tickets. Since the movie was not only somewhat old but also the English version, the theatre was relatively empty. There were about 15 other people already seated when the two boys sat down and Jeongguk had a feeling that not many more were going to show up. 

“Wow, it’s starting in five minutes. Our timing couldn’t have been better,” Jeongguk observed. Taehyung laid his head down on his boyfriend’s shoulder, muttering out a quiet agreement. Taehyung had a habit of finding the most strange positions to sit in, always somehow keeping in contact with Jeongguk throughout the whole movie. Jeongguk found it strangely endearing when Taehyung would shift around, get comfortable, and then find a way to rest his body against Jeongguk’s. 

Faintly, Jeongguk remembered the first time he took Taehyung out to a movie. He remembered the way Taehyung’s eyes had dimmed slightly when he’d suggested it; later, he found out that it was because of his inability to comprehend the entire storyline of movies. That was when he’d found their favourite theatre, one with English movies and Korean subtitles. He remembered the way Taehyung hadn’t been ready for the vibration of the seats when the movie began, sounds so loud they shook the room and scared him senseless. Jeongguk had simply rubbed the tension out of his shoulders, watching as Taehyung’s eyes widened in surprise when he took note of the words displayed across the bottom of the screen. 

“Oh, they’re letting more people in,” Taehyung observed softly, watching as a group of four or five people made their way up the stairs. Jeongguk paid no mind, settling down further into his seat. 

The lights finally dimmed even further until the room was almost pitch black. Annoyingly, the newcomers in the theatre turned on their flashlights in order to settle themselves in the seats in front of Taehyung and Jeongguk.

“Hurry up, Seojoon!” a female voice urged. 

“I need the light, I dropped my phone!” a male voice replied. Jeongguk felt a twitch in his eye. He watched as the woman shone the light towards the man, lighting up his face as he searched down the side of the theatre seat. 

Jeongguk felt Taehyung’s body coil up tightly, causing him to look down in concern. His heartbeat was suddenly hammering hard enough for Jeongguk to feel it. 

“Tae?” he said lowly, pulling the other boy back slightly to look at his face. At the same time as Jeongguk said Taehyung’s name, the man searching for his phone looked up sharply. There was a brief moment of hesitation and confusion before Taehyung was scrambling frantically out of the seat and almost tripping over his own shoes as he scurried back down the stairs. Completely lost, Jeongguk bowed his head slightly to the stranger, who was still gaping like a fish, and rushed after his boyfriend.

“Taehyung? Tae? Where are you?” Jeongguk called out in the lobby of the theatre, eyebrows furrowed together. He whipped his phone out of his pocket frantically, texting Taehyung as quick as he could.

 

To: baby boy:  _ hun where are you?? are you okay?? _

To: baby boy:  _ please answer me i’m worried _

To: baby boy:  _ what happened _

To: baby boy:  _ are you safe??  _

To: baby boy:  _ tae baby please _

 

From: baby boy:  _ im itn the batrhohn  _

 

Jeongguk read the text with shaking hands, racing to the theatre’s single-stall washroom as quickly as he could without running. He knocked on the locked door, waiting anxiously for a response, before remembering that Taehyung couldn’t even hear the knock.

 

To: baby boy:  _ i’m outside please let me in  _

 

The door opened a crack, Taehyung peeking his head out and dragging Jeongguk in quickly. To Jeongguk’s relief, he looked fairly okay, in the sense that all his limbs were intact and he wasn’t vomiting blood. 

“He- He- I didn’t think- I thought he- But-” Taehyung gasped, one trembling hand combing through his hair worryingly. 

“Slow down, honey. Look at me, okay? Just relax. Do you want to go home?” Jeongguk asked soothingly, grabbing both of his hands to stop them from fluttering aimlessly. Taehyung nodded, gulping and burying his face in Jeongguk’s neck.

“Okay,” Jeongguk whispered. “Okay.”

The walk home was silent, Jeongguk doing everything he could to calm Taehyung down. He had a rising suspicion about what had caused Taehyung’s panic but didn’t ask, not wanting to push Taehyung too far.

Once they were back at Jeongguk’s place, the pair got into their comfiest pajamas, Jeongguk preparing a cup of tea for Taehyung to sip on. He liked to drink green tea when he was anxious. 

“Thank you,” Taehyung said softly, and Jeongguk felt his shoulders finally lose their tension as he draped a blanket over them. Jeongguk smiled softly, kissing Taehyung’s nose and settling in beside him.  There was a bit of silence once more until Taehyung spoke up. 

“Seojoon, he, uh. He’s my ex. The one that… the… yeah. Him,” Taehyung explained brokenly. Jeongguk didn’t need further explanation; he had had a feeling that Seojoon was Taehyung’s ex. 

“Well,” Jeongguk shrugged. “At least now I’m positive about something.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” Taehyung asked, taken aback by Jeongguk’s strange declaration. Jeongguk grinned sheepishly.

_ I’m hotter than him,  _ he signed at Taehyung, making the other boy burst out laughing. 

_ Yes, you are,  _ Taehyung signed back, still giggling when Jeongguk tackled him into a hug. Taehyung sighed lowly, pressing a soft kiss to Jeongguk’s jaw. 

_ I’m sorry I ruined date night. _ Jeongguk felt his heart drop at his boyfriend’s thoughts, pulling him closer and squeezing his cheeks. 

“Listen here, stupid. You didn’t ruin anything. I love y-” Jeongguk started, only to be interrupted by the familiar sound of the front door slamming open. 

“There better not be any gay shit happening in my good Christian home!” Hoseok screamed, skidding into the living room. “You told me you were going out tonight! I thought that meant I was safe from the gay shit! Please, please, please,  _ please  _ have clothes on!” 

Annoyed, Jeongguk dropped his hands from Taehyung’s face.

_ I love you, but I’m not showing any weakness in front of Hoseok,  _ Jeongguk signed. Taehyung giggled softly, pulling his legs up so he was sitting cross-legged and pecking Jeongguk gently. 

Jeongguk physically flinched from how hard Hoseok gagged.

“I take it back, I’d rather watch y’all fuck than have this cutesy shit happening on my couch,” Hoseok groaned. 

“Worse has happened on this couch,” Jeongguk smirked, covering Taehyung’s eyes and glaring right at Hoseok. “Like the time Taehyung and I-”

“For the love of  _ God _ ! I’m  _ leaving _ ! I’m sleeping at Yoongi’s! Don’t hurt my couch, you absolute shithead,” Hoseok snapped. Taehyung pried Jeongguk’s hand off of his eyes and made a face.

“Why’s he leaving?” Taehyung asked, prompting Jeongguk to shrug innocently. 

“Don’t care. So, what game are we playing?”

  
  


Two weeks went by without a peep from Seojoon. Taehyung and Jeongguk both forgot about the small incident, too busy to focus on the subject. Jeongguk had found himself with a night off, deciding to surprise Taehyung while he was studying. On the way to his place, some flowers in the window of a convenience store caught Jeongguk’s eye. They were yellow and pink and reminded him of Taehyung, for some strange reason. Eventually, he found himself staring at the endless assortments of flowers at 11 pm, biting his bottom lip, unsure of himself. He didn’t know which kind Taehyung would like the  _ most _ . 

After about five minutes of looking, somebody who worked at the store came up behind him.

“Excuse me, sir, do you need any help?” the voice asked. Jeongguk jumped slightly, turning around. 

“Ah, sure. Which do you think looks better, the yellows or the pinks?” he asked, indecisive. The man laughed, humming quietly. 

“Hmm, I think the yellow ones are nice. I’m sure whoever- wait a second, I know you!” the man gasped suddenly. Jeongguk tilted his head slightly, fully observing the man. There was a long moment of confusion before the gears in Jeongguk’s mind clicked.

“Oh,” he said darkly. Seojoon was standing right in front of him. The irony of the situation was almost funny.

“You’re dating Kim Taehyung, right? Are the flowers for him?” Seojoon asked, more of a statement than a question. Jeongguk smiled, tight-lipped and evidently annoyed. 

“Yeah,” he answered curtly. Seojoon nodded. 

“Go with the pinks then. He likes pink,” Seojoon supplied. Jeongguk scrunched up his nose, picking up the yellow flowers. 

“Thanks,” he deadpanned. Seojoon shook his head, standing more formally with his arms crossed across his chest.

“So, do you live with him yet?” Seojoon wondered. Jeongguk took a step back.

“No.”

“Ah. Makes sense,” Seojoon replied simply. Jeongguk huffed out an annoyed sigh at his obvious disinterest. 

“What does that matter?” Jeongguk prompted, feeling his blood boil. Seojoon waved a hand, rolling his eyes. 

“Well, it just makes sense that you’re still infatuated with him. Trust me, you should get out now before it gets nasty. Once you live with him, you’ll understand,” Seojoon scoffed. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jeongguk growled through his teeth. Seojoon did the hand movement again, one that Jeongguk was learning to hate. 

“He just does so many stupid things. He’s clingy, and he’s incapable of doing anything on his own. It’s just, what’s the word… annoying, I guess. It gets to the point where he just bothers you,” Seojoon explained. Jeongguk was absolutely fuming, his heartbeat pounding. “Oh, and the worst part was this stupid slur he spoke with- I mean, I get it, he’s deaf, but the least he could do was try to speak like a normal person.” 

Jeongguk was biting his tongue hard enough that he could taste blood. He didn’t understand how somebody like Taehyung could have ever seen anything relatively worthy within this absolute maggot of a human being. 

It took Jeongguk a moment to notice that he was speaking his thoughts out loud. 

Seojoon was looking at him in shock and Jeongguk snapped. 

“You’re actually disgusting, you know that?” he murmured, not wanting the other staff in the store to hear. Seojoon was getting in Jeongguk’s face, pushing against his chest. 

“You just wait. One day you’ll wake up to his stupid face and regret not listening to me,” Seojoon yelled, obviously intent on making a scene. “What gives you the right to-”

“Me? What gives  _ me  _ the right? You-” Jeongguk spluttered, in complete shock at how blatantly hypocritical this man was. His breath smelled bad, too. Seojoon was obviously over the civil act they’d both been keeping up, shoving Jeongguk back a step.

“Are you having fun with my leftovers? You know, the only reason I was with him so long was because I couldn’t bear to leave when the sex was that good. I know you’re probably thinking the same thing, right? Let me tell you, as great as he can be in bed, it’s not worth it-” 

Jeongguk didn’t even realize when he swung the punch, but he felt the force of his hand hitting Seojoon square in the jaw, felt the pain in his hand when he didn’t quite hit properly. Seojoon stumbled back, hand on his face, yelling loud enough for the other staff to hear. 

“Keep his name out of your mouth,” Jeongguk spat, placing the flowers back in their spot and storming out of the store. 

He felt himself brooding as he stomped off, his mind elsewhere as his legs brought him to Taehyung’s place. He couldn’t wrap his head around what had happened. If Seojoon spoke to Taehyung the same way he spoke to Jeongguk, he could understand Taehyung’s insecurities. It hurt Jeongguk to even think about Taehyung receiving those harsh words, especially revolving around something he can’t control. 

As he was walking, he spotted a small park, and wildflowers littered around the grass. His frantic pace slowed as he looked at the flowers, stopping with a sigh and beginning to gather as many as he could, avoiding using his right hand. When he had a considerable amount piled up, he smiled, knowing in his heart that Taehyung would like the wildflowers more than he would store bought ones, anyway.

It took Taehyung a few seconds to open the door once Jeongguk’s text sent. When he did, Jeongguk couldn’t resist pulling him into a bone-crushing hug, breathing in the scent of his freshly washed hair and running his hand down Taehyung’s back.

“Wow, missed you too,” Taehyung laughed quietly, and Jeongguk pulled back quickly. 

“I love your voice!” he blurted, eyes wide and face completely serious. Taehyung sputtered out a laugh at Jeongguk’s abruptness.

“O-Okay, thank you,” he blushed, beginning to notice that something was off. “But-”

“No, Taehyung, I- It’s really cute, you know? It’s deep but it’s also kind of childlike in the most adorable way and the way you say my name is one of my favourite sounds,” Jeongguk rambled, feeling like he needed to get the words out before they choked him. 

“Gukkie, I don’t know what to say,” Taehyung giggled, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Are you sick?” 

“N-No, I just kinda walked really fast here,” Jeongguk half-assed explained. Taehyung raised an eyebrow, expecting the truth.

“Well, you see, I was coming to surprise you but I saw these flowers in the window, and they reminded me of you so I wanted to get them, but then Seojoon was working at the store-” Jeongguk dribbled on, stopping mid-sentence. “Oh! Here!” 

“Jeongguk, your hand!” Taehyung gasped, ignoring the flowers Jeongguk was holding out to inspect the bruising forming on his knuckles. Jeongguk made a face.

“Yeah, I was getting there. Here, these flowers are for you,” he said, letting Taehyung take the flowers into his own hands. Jeongguk kicked off his shoes, following Taehyung into the kitchen in order to find a vase of sorts. 

“Continue,” Taehyung said, nodding at Jeongguk to keep talking. With a deep breath, Jeongguk tried his best to explain.

“Long story short, I punched Seojoon in the face and now we should probably find a new grocery store to shop at,” he muttered. Taehyung looked at him for a moment, blinking. 

“I honestly don’t know if I’m amused, upset or worried,” Taehyung sighed. Jeongguk bit his lip, looking at the floor.

“Uh, amused? I hope?” Jeongguk tried, scratching the back of his neck with his uninjured hand. Taehyung, thankfully, let out a chuckle, placing the flowers in a little mug of water and wrapping his arms around Jeongguk’s neck. 

“You’re a dork,” he said. 

“I know,” Jeongguk replied, touching his nose gently to Taehyung’s. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Taehyung snorted, punching Jeongguk’s chest lightly. Jeongguk shrugged one shoulder. 

“I’m not really sure. Sorry you had to deal with him, I guess. Or sorry it took me so long to finally punch him,” Jeongguk deadpanned. Taehyung laughed lightly, bringing his arms down in order to gently lift Jeongguk’s bruised hand. 

“As much as I appreciate the fact that you actually hit him, please try and not get hurt anymore, yeah? I don’t care what he said about me because he doesn’t matter to me anymore. You do, though,” Taehyung said, smiling that adorable fucking boxy smile that made Jeongguk soft. Jeongguk took a moment to admire Taehyung; his face, his smile, his laugh, him. He made Jeongguk so happy, he knew what he wanted. 

“Move in with me,” Jeongguk blurted. Taehyung’s head shot back quickly.

“Pardon?” 

“Move in with me,” he repeated. “Or we can adopt a dog. Or get married. I don’t care, it’ll all happen eventually but I figured that getting a place together is the most lowkey,” Jeongguk offered. Taehyung was gaping at him, unsure of how to react.

“I- Of course I want to, but, I just- are you sure?” Taehyung clarified. Jeongguk then recalled every harsh thing Seojoon said, thought about all the horrible things he must have told Taehyung. 

“Taehyung. I want to move in with you. I want to see your face first thing in the morning and have it be the last thing I see before I go to sleep.  I want to hear you sing old songs in the shower because I know you do, even if you don’t remember exactly how they used to sound. I want to watch you try to cook and I want to pretend I like the gross foods you make me. I want to be with you, Taehyung. That’s probably the only thing I’m honestly sure about at this point in my life, and I want you to know that,” Jeongguk said earnestly. Taehyung was biting back tears, hands fisted in Jeongguk’s shirt tightly.

“Who do you think you are, making me feel like this?” Taehyung gasped jokingly, laughing shakily and shaking his head. Jeongguk laughed as well, holding Taehyung’s hands in his own. 

“Please, Tae, we can find a cute little apartment together, and-” Jeongguk tried to convince him, but Taehyung cut him off. 

“You don’t need to convince me, Gukkie. That’s all I want,” Taehyung laughed. Jeongguk grinned, picking him up by the waist and spinning him around until they both collapsed on the couch in a ball of limbs and laughter. 

Taehyung ended up half on Jeongguk’s lap, half on the couch, their faces pressed together in a light kiss. 

“You know what,” Jeongguk mumbled against Taehyung’s lips.

“Hmm,” Taehyung replied, not quite interested, too busy nestling further into Jeongguk.

“I  _ wouldn’t  _ hand you over to marry G-Dragon,” Jeongguk said, conviction in his voice. Taehyung snorted out a laugh, tracing a finger over his cheek. 

“That’s a lie, but I’m going to pretend I believe you for the sake of the moment,” Taehyung replied, teasingly harsh. Jeongguk knew he wasn’t wrong, chuckling at the way Taehyung looked into his eyes and conveyed  _ I love you _ better than words ever could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so basically we saw a comment asking for this and decided to write it !  
> i hope this was a satisying lil drabble , it was fun!! we missed our boys smh  
> twitters:  
> @yikesmontana  
> @yikesregan


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